Celtic can't afford to 'snooze' during transfer window, admits Rodgers

Brendan Rodgers has warned that Celtic can’t afford to fall asleep in this transfer window if they’re to kick on in the coming season.

The Northern Irishman confirmed that Paulo Bernardo is on the brink of completing his £3.4million move from Benfica — as Mail Sport first reported.

The 22-year-old Portuguese midfielder, who was on loan as Rodgers’ side won the double last season, will become the club’s third signing of the summer after Kasper Schmeichel and Viljami Sinisalo.

Adam Idah, who joined on loan from Norwich last January, has also inched closer to a permanent move after making it clear to the Carrow Road hierarchy that he wants to go back to Glasgow.

But, with a lack of first-team ready players having arrived so far, there is disquiet among some supporters ahead of the start of Celtic’s title defence against Kilmarnock on Sunday.

Clear that he expects that situation to have changed by the time the window closes on August 30, Rodgers said: ‘We still have work to do but, with transfers, there are lots of moving parts. It’s never as easy as just seeing a player and bringing him in.

‘We’d hope by the end of August we will have the team supported in the way we wanted.

‘It’s so important that you don’t snooze in this game of football. You always have to be developing and improving. And we want to ensure that we have an improved squad for this season in order to take on all the challenges that we have.’

Idah is currently the subject of disciplinary action by Norwich after refusing to travel to Austria with the team for a friendly last weekend.

Reluctant to be drawn on whether that meant the Irishman would soon be pictured in a Celtic jersey again, Rodgers said: ‘Well, Adam is a Norwich player. He obviously did fantastically well for us last season and we’ll just see what happens over the course of the coming weeks.’

Matt O’Riley remains a Celtic player despite Atalanta having made three failed bids — the last of which was £15m plus add ons.

Rodgers is adamant that no player will be allowed to leave the club for less than their market value.

‘It’s not a club where you have to move on from,’ he explained. ‘But obviously there are riches in other leagues much greater than ours which allow players to go and improve their conditions for their lives. We all understand that.

‘But I think it’s really important from my perspective that, if a player does leave, that they pay the value for the player. And that’s not something that always happens. Sometimes the value can come in a lot less.

‘I have worked in the Premier League and I understand the levels there. And I understand the players and what the values are.

‘So, no player will leave here unless it’s for the right valuation and, at this moment in time, there has been no team that’s been anywhere near that.’