FIRST TIME AROUND: BRENDAN’S 16 DEALS

BRENDAN RODGERS’ first signing for Celtic in June 2016 was a fairly memorable one.

The new Hoops gaffer had only been in the job for a month when he swooped for Moussa Dembele, a raw 20-year-old striker, in a cut-price cross-border raid.

The French starlet cost a meagre £500,000 in compensation as he left Fulham at the end of his contract.

Demonstrating praiseworthy business acumen, Rodgers brought in DOUBLE that fee when he sold Serbian flop frontman Stefan Scepovic to Spanish outfit Getafe.

THREE CHEERS…Moussa Dembele celebrates his hat-trick on his derby debut as Celtic demolish Rangers 5-1 at Parkhead in September 2016.

Also heading for the exit at the same time was Anthony Stokes as Ronny Deila’s replacement decided against triggering the 12-month option in the Republic of Ireland international forward’s contract.

He had been due to return after his loan period at Hibs – where he scored a double in the Easter Road club’s 3-2 Scottish Cup Final triumph over Mark Warburton’s Ibrox outfit – and he kicked off a multi-club sequence when he joined Tony Mowbray at Blackburn Rovers.

Rodgers paid £4.5million to Aston Villa for flamboyant raider Scott Sinclair and also brought in 35-year-old Dutch keeper Dorus de Vries for a modest £400,000 from Nottingham Forest.

The Irishman also introduced another mid-thirties defensive recruit in his former Liverpool centre-back Kolo Toure, a free agent after being released by the Merseyside club.

In all, Rodgers was involved in a whirlwind SIXTEEN summer transfer deals at Parkhead just seven months after leaving Anfield.