Rodgers wants Celtic to replace first-XI regular straight away this summer

Celtic have a number of players whose contracts are coming to an end before the summer. One of those players is the talented young player, Rocco Vata, who had appeared certain to leave Parkhead amid interest from Italy before the Hoops opened negotiations over a new deal.

Celtic have made progress toward an agreement with the 18-year-old, and an extension is now thought to be close. However, things are looking bleak for midfielder David Turnbull, as last month’s comments by Brendan Rodgers indicated he “won’t lose sleep” over his refusal to sign new terms following a lackluster round of negotiations last summer.

Intriguingly, there could be some upheaval in the goalkeeping ranks in Glasgow, with both Joe Hart and Scott Bain into their final six months. And it seems Rodgers is already adamant about what he wants to do with the former.

Celtic to bid farewell to Hart

According to Football Insider, Celtic will replace Hart as their first-choice goalkeeper ahead of next season. The Scottish Premiership leaders are “actively seeking” a new number one in their preparations for the summer transfer window.

Rodgers is apparently happy to keep Hart between the sticks for the remainder of the current campaign, but he’s “eager” to replace him straight away, with the position marked out as the “top priority” for the off-season.

Champions League exposes Hart as Kelleher eyed

Given the depth of Hart’s involvement this season, it’s a little shocking that his departure is already viewed as certain.He has so far participated in 29 games, starting all but one of them in all competitions. At the end of September, he received a red card against Livingston, which resulted in a suspension for the league match against Motherwell.

There hasn’t even been rotation for the cup games, with Hart donning the armband against Highland League side Buckie Thistle last weekend, but that would appear to reflect Rodgers’ doubts about the strength of his backup options rather than any overwhelming confidence in Hart.

Indeed, while he’s kept 11 clean sheets this term, he struggled in the group stages of the Champions League. Celtic conceded a joint-competition high of 15 goals, and while that isn’t automatically a knock on the ‘keeper – sometimes there’s nothing they can do – Hart only faced a post-shot xG total of 13.3, which gave him the fifth-poorest shot-stopping record in the tournament. Rodgers will want somebody who can truly hold their own against the toughest opponents.

Celtic needed someone to go out and fetch, right? Caoimhin Kelleher from Liverpool is one such name. The Irishman wants to leave Anfield, and it was claimed this week that they are making a move for him. However, they are hoping that Liverpool will first reduce their expectations of £20 million. Even if Rodgers could think of him as the answer to all of his issues, there’s a sense that no potential suitor will ever be able to match that assessment.

Read more on sportupdates.co.uk