Brendan Rodgers reveals that Arsenal star Declan Rice was on his way to Parkhead.

Last summer, the former West Ham captain joined Arsenal in a record-breaking £105 million deal.

Brendan Rodgers has revealed that Celtic were on the verge of landing £105 million Arsenal star Declan Rice during his first spell at Parkhead.

Rodgers is looking for ready-made first-team players this month, following an underwhelming summer transfer window that saw only Luis Palma command a regular starting spot. As the champions look to splash the cash in January, the Hoops boss insists he has the full support of the board and head of recruitment Mark Lawwell.
While fans will expect early signings, Rodgers knows all too well how difficult transfer negotiations can be, having missed out on several top talents during his managerial career. One player who immediately comes to mind is 48-times England cap Rice, who was set to join Parkhead in 2017 before an injury crisis at West Ham opened the door to the senior team.

The rest, as they say, is history, as Rice later led the Hammers to Europa League glory before joining Arsenal for an English record fee last summer.
“Ideally, you’d want to get them in,” Rodgers recalled. Deals are frequently complicated, and items that may have been present for three or four months may disappear. That is the task. It only takes one injury for a player who was scheduled to play to be called up.

“I remember when I first came here, we spent about three months waiting for Declan Rice to come in.” He was all set to arrive when they discovered an injury; he stayed and made the team, and the rest is history. That is not the fault of the club. It’s just the way things are. “We want to prioritise a number of positions. We won’t be able to do anything about other positions until the summer. But we want to improve the squad, and the club is happy to help.”

in other news,   Celtic are interested in signing Lawrence Shankland ahead of four Premier League clubs.