BRENDAN RODGERS broke the Celtic transfer signing record when he splashed £9million on Odsonne Edouard in the summer of 2018.
The French international striker convinced the Irishman to make the deal after his impressive season-long loan from Paris Saint-Germain.
Neil Lennon made Christopher Jullien the most expensive defender in Hoops’ history when he brough him in from Toulouse in a £7million switch in July 2019.
The most Ange Postecoglou spent in his two years in charge was the £6.5million he handed to Benfica for Filipe Jota in July 2022 after the winger’s season-long temporary transfer.
GOAL-DEN BHOY…Odsonne Edouard is congratulated by Scott Sinclair after scoring the winner against Hearts in the Scottish Cup Final at Hampden on May 25 2019. James Forrest is about to join in.
Edouard moved to Crystal Palace in the summer of 2021 for £18.5million while the Portuguese maverick, of course, has matched Kieran Tierney’s £25million fee with his megabucks move to Saudi Arabia.
Rodgers is bracing himself for some more brisk wheeling and dealing in the market place and has already spent something in the region of £6million on Norwegian midfielder Odin Thiago Holm, Australian flanker Marco Tilio and South Korean wide Bhoy Yang Hyun-jun with the latest recruit’s compatriot Kwon Hyeok-kyu, valued at £850,000, on the brink of making the switch to the treble winners, as CQN reported last night.
The returning Hoops gaffer has money to spend as he continues to strengthen his squad for the challenges on the domestic and European fronts in the new season, but he warned fans he may NOT be breaking any records this time around.
Rodgers said: “Yes, there’s money there, but it doesn’t always mean if you spend £9million or £10million you’re going to get a top player.
“There might be someone within your academy or a player at £2million or £3million who can become a £20million or £30million player.
WIDE BHOY…Aussie winger Marco Tilio is one of Brendan Rodgers’ first recruits.
“My strength is development and I’ve been working closely with the people here to improve the squad.
“The club is in a great position. But there is a model. Coming in this second time, I’m very clear of where that is at.
“It’s what I’m looking forward to. You want players who are first-team ready, but it’s seeing what the needs of the squad are and then getting the best player possible within that model.”
Looking at his transfer strategy, Rodgers, speaking to the Scottish Sun, added: “It was only fair to assess the squad first.
“There were already positions I felt we could improve on, but we’re in a period of assessment.
“What we’ve done is try to plan for the future with some of the signings, ones who could play now, but will be real value going forward.
“This planning process behind the scenes from Michael Nicholson and Mark Lawwell has really impressed me. We are in a really good place.”
