Brendan Rodgers admits he WANTED to take Callum McGregor to Leicester - but he's glad he stayed at Celtic.
The Hoops skipper has been a key man in the midfield for a number of years and took over the armband from legendary skipper Scott Brown when he called time on his trophy laden spell at Parkhead. McGregor had enjoyed huge success in the east end and not long after departing for the Foxes his new boss tried to poach him from Glasgow.
But he put pen to paper on a long-term deal and now looks set to see out his career at the Hoops. Rodgers is delighted he remains at the club as they get set to work with each other once more as they bid to bring further trophy success to Celtic Park and make a splash on the big European stage.
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Opening up on McGregor, Rodgers said: “I was keen to get Callum. He was perfect for the Premier League. He’d come in and impose how I wanted to play and understand how I wanted to work.
"He could play in different positions. He’s tactically brilliant. But I’m really glad he stayed now! I’m very happy that he’s the captain. What my experiences of both leagues tell me is people talk about Scott Brown, and that he would never be able to cope in the Premier League.
“He’d have played in a top-six team in the Premier League and Callum is the same. But they stay here, their happiness is here. Sometimes it’s different to coaches because from a coaching perspective, it’s the challenge of working against top coaches and top teams.
“For Callum he’s really happy here and progressed in my first spell. He’s continued to progress and now he’s so important for his club and his country. But for me he could fit into any of those top teams because he can play football.”
Rodgers added: “At the time you had Callum and Kieran Tierney. Certainly whichever one went then the other one was never going to get away. Kieran was the one who left.”
