Celtic will demand a massive £9m fee from clubs interested in the services of manager Brendan Rodgers, as reported by The Sun.
The paper say that English Premier League clubs Newcastle United and Leicester City remain interested in bringing the Hoops boss back to English football as they struggle to make an impact in the English top-flight this season.
Newcastle lost again this weekend, this time to Brighton & Hove Albion, leaving them rock bottom of the table and piling the pressure on Rafa Benitez.
Former champions Leicester fare better in 11th position, but have ambitions to qualify for European football on a regular basis.
That reported £9m is a big ask though for a managerial candidate and it could be one of the main stumbling blocks prevent clubs from making official approaches, if indeed Rodgers himself is interested in a move away from the club.
In my opinion, Rodgers is ensuring that the club are operating at a level beyond mediocrity and losing him would be a critical blow to our ambitions at home and abroad, which could return to the kind of levels we witnessed under Ronny Deila and the back end of Neil Lennon’s time in charge.
He has his faults of course, and isn’t beyond criticism, but it’s undeniable that Rodgers has improved just about every standard at the club in his two full seasons in charge.
Life without him before a certain ten-in-a-row milestone doesn’t sound too clever and it appears the decision makers at the club have played a blinder in tying him down to a long-term contract with a big buy out clause.