BRENDAN RODGERS has rubbished transfer reports linking him with players he doesn’t “even know”.
The Celtic boss was reacting to tales he was lining up a double swoop for Brazilian winger Ferreira and Egyptian midfielder Mohamed Reda.
Rodgers is preparing to welcome South Korean duo Yang Hyun-jun and Kwon Hyeok-kyu when the team return from their two-game tour of Japan with the second and final match due against Osaka Gamba on Saturday.
They are poised to join the Irishman’s previous captures Norwegian midfielder Odin Thaigo Holm and Australian international flanker Marco Tilio as the returning gaffer puts his squad together for the competitive action which will kick off with the Premiership opener against Ross County at Parkhead a fortnight on Saturday.
Asked about the possibility of Ferreira and Reda also arriving at the treble winners, Rodgers answered: “I don’t even know them, to be honest.”
Reflecting on last night’s 6-4 loss against Yokohama F Marinos in the Nissan Stadium, Rodgers, speaking to the Daily Record, added: “If we won 5-0 it wouldn’t have mattered, either.
“The priority is getting the players ready for when it matters. It’s quite a hard ask for the players to arrive late on the Monday, adapt to the time and then play in that heat against a very good team who are well into the season.
“We had some very good moments in the game and scored some good goals.
“We gave away poor goals I wouldn’t expect us to be losing later on in pre-season. It’s still a period we are developing the structure and the fitness.
“It was a really good exercise for us. It was always going to be a challenge, firstly from a physical perspective.”
