Brendan Rodgers has admitted that it could be hard for him to keep hold of his top players after it was reported that Celtic captain Scott Brown is a wanted man.
The Scottish Sun has reported that MLS duo Sporting Kansas City and Minnesota United are interested in signing the the 33-year-old, whose contract with the Hoops expires at the end of the season.
The Daily Mail adds that A-League side Western Melbourne also want the ex-Scotland international, and although Rodgers wants to see his captain stay at Celtic Park, he worries that big financial packages could lure away some players.
“I’ve seen a few reports on this since I’ve been up here,” said Rodgers, as quoted by the Mail. “There are boys talking about it and, yes, we function well. But that’s because we’ve always functioned as a collective.
‘The team doesn’t rely on one player. We build it around the team. And Browny’s a big part of that no matter how much people want to write him off and wither him away.”
He added: “Obviously if there’s a real big financial incentive (from elsewhere) then it’s very hard to deny players the opportunity to do that.”
OPINION
Celtic need to tie up a new deal for Brown as soon as possible because it won’t be long before clubs can approach him in January with the view to signing him permanently next summer. While Brown may be Mr Celtic, him leaving Parkhead is something that could happen, especially if the 33-year-old sees a move as one final payday and a chance to play out his career in the States or Australia. You couldn’t blame him if he wanted that and after so many years of service for the Hoops, he probably deserves it. Brown has won everything in Scotland on multiple occasions. He is probably just too old to be sticking around for ten-in-a-row so moving on does make a lot of sense. The issue is that Celtic would really struggle to replace someone who has been so key to their side for over a decade. It would be nice to see Brown stay for one more year but there hasn’t been this much interest in him in a long long time and that interest could die if he signs a new deal.