OPINION
Celtic must hijack Rangers’ hunt to sign Millwall defender Jack Cooper this summer after it was reported that the Ibrox club would struggle to afford his valuation of over £5million.
The Express has reported that Steven Gerrard has made Cooper, 23, his top target for the transfer window and the Light Blues would be ready to offer up over £1million for the former England youth international after a solid season at Championship surprise package Millwall.
However it has since emerged that while the Gers are interested in the 6ft 5in centre-back, they are unlikely to be able to afford him as Southwark News chief sports reporter John Kelly has reported on his personal Twitter account that the Lions would be unwilling to sell the 23-year-old and would more than likely want over £5million to consider a sale.
https://twitter.com/JKelly1882/status/1014795705733574657
And this hands a perfect chance for Celtic to swoop in and pick up the impressive centre-back to bolster their defensive line.
Cooper can play on the left-hand side of a back-three and Rodgers has shown in the last couple of seasons that he likes to switch to that formation on the occasion.
Signing Cooper would also give the Hoops an added threat at set-pieces as the 6ft 5in defender scored four goals and supplied three assists in 42 appearances across all competitions for Millwall last term, proving that he is very much a tall figure that opposing players struggle to deal with.
There is also the likelihood of Rodgers losing some of his existing defenders.
The Scottish Sun has reported that Fulham are interested in Dedryck Boyata and Jozo Simunovic has been linked with moving away from Parkhead, most notably in January when the Daily Record claimed that Crystal Palace were interested in him.
Marvin Compper has struggled to stay fit and Jack Hendry is yet to really impress since his move from Dundee in January.
That means that Rodgers simply has to sign a decent centre-back this summer – and he should definitely be looking to beat Rangers to the signing of Cooper, who is quite simply out of their league.