Frequent changes in manager inevitably lead to the accumulation of players with a couple of left-overs from Neil Lennon’s time hopefully moving on long after their usefulness came to an end
A hefty wage rise would no doubt be on offer at Elland Road but negotiations with Celtic on his current deal which runs until 2026 could bring a similar outcome.
Alas for Haksa two Celtic players returned from the World Cup Finals in exceptional form, Aaron Mooy edged Matt O’Riley out of a midfield place with Daizen Maeda nailing down the left wing spot with Jota switched to the right.
Beale has rarely been slow to talk up his own brilliance but last night his answers were notably shorter as he tried to heap praise on PSV rather than criticise his own squad.
We’re all really disappointed in that changing room. It’s something, as players, we knew how much it meant to the club, the fans and ourselves to try and get into the Champions League.
But we hope that we’ve assembled a squad that Michael can be really competitive with in terms of getting to that group stage.
Left-back remains a priority heading into the final hours of the window, with Celtic also repelling late interest from Leeds United for midfielder Matt O’Riley.
Rodgers made it clear it clear that he needed an experienced central defender, it wasn’t a position for projects with Celtic 365 understanding that the deal to bring Phillips to Celtic Park has been completed tonight.
With no travel or employment issues a deal should be fairly straightforward which could allow the 26-year-old to be training with the Celtic squad before the match at Ibrox on Sunday.
And then we come to summer 2023, Postecoglou is no longer involved as Mark grabs his big opportunity, a Lawwell family member in charge of transfer activity. What could possibly go wrong?