Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers was backed by the board during the summer transfer window as they splashed the cash on several signings to bolster the squad.
The Hoops reportedly agreed a fee of up to £9.5m with Norwich City to sign centre-forward Adam Idah, which had the potential to break the club’s transfer record – Odsonne Edouard’s £9m move from PSG – at the time.
That record was then smashed by the signing of central midfielder Arne Engels from Augsburg for a reported fee of £11m, which meant that the club could end up paying over £20m for Idah and Engels combined.
The Belgian whiz has become the most expensive incoming midfielder in the club’s history but Rodgers did once want to sign a midfielder for the club who is now worth significantly more than £11m.
Celtic's interest in Declan Rice
Speaking back in January, the Northern Irish head coach revealed that he had attempted to sign Declan Rice from Premier League side West Ham United during his first spell at the club, between 2016 and 2019.
Rodgers claimed that Celtic spent “three months” trying to secure the English youngster’s services and that he was “all set” to make the move to Parkhead, although it was not specified whether it would have been a loan or a permanent switch.
However, the Hammers then picked up an injury that scuppered the deal and the Bhoys boss stated that Rice then worked his way into the side.
Rodgers did not reveal what window that deal fell through in but the then-teenage ace made his first-team breakthrough as a regular during the 2017/18 campaign, which suggests that the Hoops had tried to sign him in the summer of 2017.
Declan Rice's current market value
That turned out to be one that got away for Celtic as Rice’s career in England has gone from strength to strength since his move to Celtic fell through.
He emerged as a regular starter for the Hammers, making 245 first-team appearances, and earned himself a big-money switch to Arsenal last year.
The England international, who was dubbed “influential” by Jamie Carragher, penned a five-year contract at The Emirates and was bought for an initial fee of £100m, which speaks to his incredible rise since coming through the academy at West Ham.
Appearances
38
Goals
7
Assists
8
Pass accuracy
91%
Tackles + interceptions per game
3.4
As you can see in the table above, the 25-year-old star enjoyed a terrific debut campaign with the London giants, as he was directly involved in 15 goals and consistently cut out opposition attacks with tackles and interceptions.
Rice, who was described as a “monster” by presenter Joe Thomlinson, has emerged as one of the finest players in the Premier League, as shown by his statistics and Transfermarkt making him the fifth-most valuable player in the division at €120m (£100m).
This shows that the England international was one that got away for Rodgers and Celtic during the manager’s first spell in charge, as they missed out on a player with gigantic potential.
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1 ByDan EmerySep 12, 2024