Alan Stubbs has claimed that Brendan Rodgers won't be interested in a return to Parkhead amid Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham exit - further adding that the Aussie won't steal Celtic's stars.
Postecoglou has agreed personal terms in principle with the English Premier League outfit, alongside the clubs all but finalising a compensation package which would reportedly bank the Hoops just under £5million should their affable Aussie depart for north London.
It's a sorry day for Celtic fans given that they won the treble just two days ago, but with plenty of big names on offer, that could perhaps soften the blow of their leader departing for pastures new. Rodgers remains the the bookies favourite but reports say he isn't keen as he'd prefer to take some time off. And Stubbs thinks that's because the Irishman isn't the most liked person in the east end of Glasgow. However, he admitted that Celtic could bring in an equally big name from the continent with the stock of the club rising over the past two years under Ange's guidance.
Stubbs told SafeBettingSites: “I can’t see Brendan Rodgers coming back. It was all about Brendan when he left for Leicester rather than being best for the club. A lot of Celtic fans were rightly not happy with his departure. The way he departed left a sour taste in their mouths and I don’t really know if Brendan would want to come back anyway as he has been linked with the Leeds job.
“Celtic are in a very strong position now and I think there will be big names from across Europe who would be very interested. Whoever comes in is inheriting a very healthy squad and Champions League football. Can Celtic pull another Ange Postecoglou out of the hat? The board will want to act quickly especially as Rangers are well down the line with a lot of their signings and they won’t want to give up any ground."
The next question is whether Ange will bring in any of his Celtic contingent to Tottenham. The club have unbelievable talents such as Jota, Kyogo and Cameron Carter-Vickers who may well leave the club now that Ange has departed - but Stubbs made the point that even CCV came from Tottenham, where he was deemed surplus to requirements - and that he will now be 'shopping at Waitrose' as opposed to 'Aldi' in reference to Celtic's miniscule budget by comparison.
He said: “I don’t think Ange could have turned it down. From a financial point of view his salary will probably increase five-fold or even eight-fold but I don’t think that will be the main motivation.
“The Celtic fans will be so sad to see him go. They knew it would happen at some point but not this quick. They were all hoping the Feyenoord manager would have taken it and they wouldn’t be in this situation now. Time will tell whether he can be a success at Tottenham but he has been successful wherever he has been – the Australian national team and Yokohama F Marinos and then the outstanding job he did at Celtic.
“It’s the Premier League and the challenge of making Tottenham a top four club again. Celtic are a much bigger club than Spurs but it’s the environment they play in. He has a big job to do – and can he persuade Harry Kane to stay for a start?
"I don’t think he will try to raid the Celtic squad for Kyogo for example. You have to ask which Celtic players would improve Tottenham? It’s a not to say current Celtic players are not good enough to play in the Premier League but would they walk into Tottenham’s first XI?
“You have to think about the way Ange plays as he only uses one striker. So, if Harry Kane stays, he plays ahead of Kyogo.
“I know Cameron Carter-Vickers has done very well but he was let go by Tottenham. I think Ange used to shop at Aldi and now he’s shopping at Waitrose.”
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