Celtic: Brendan Rodgers could come back to haunt Bhoys in transfer chase

Former Celtic and current Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers is looking to challenge the Hoops in the chase for Carlisle United defender Jarrad Branthwaite, Football Insider claims.

Rodgers was the manager of the Bhoys until late February earlier this year, after which he joined the Foxes.

The player in question, Branthwaite, has been attracting attention from all parts of the country this season. Rodgers’ side feel that they are currently in pole position to sign the young 17-year-old defender in January.

Celtic, Newcastle United and Aston Villa are also in the chase for the youngster and like Leicester, have been keeping a close eye on him for the last few weeks.

A star in the making?

At the age of 17, this is Branthwaite’s first season of first-team football at any club. He has grown through the ranks at Carlisle this season itself and that is why his rise to prominence is catching people’s attention.

In all competitions this season, Branthwaite has played nine times for Carlisle. Six of those nine appearances have come in League Two, having played at the centre-back position in all of these games. He has also played two out of three of their FA Cup games, starting both of them.

Branthwaite is six feet and four inches tall. He was on the bench eight times in the League Two for the club last season and he was only 16 years old back then.

TIF Tactics

It is tough to think how a 17-year-old defender from the League Two side can get game time for a Europa League club like Celtic or a top-four Premier League side like Leicester City. But any deal for Branthwaite from any teams will be a highly long-term acquisition.

Celtic currently have multiple options in the central defensive positions. Christopher Jullien, Kristoffer Ajer, Nir Bitton and Jack Hendry are the options there. Missing out on Branthwaite will not be a huge disaster but missing out on him because of their former manager will not go down well amongst fans.