Brendan Rodgers has admitted that he tried to lure Callum McGregor away from Celtic during his tenure at Leicester City.
The Northern Irishman, who recently returned to Celtic as Ange Postecoglou’s successor, revealed that he is now glad that Celtic rebuffed his efforts to take McGregor to the Premier League.
Rodgers had made McGregor a prime target almost immediately after leaving Glasgow for Leicester City in 2019.
In the summer of 2020, there were rumours of a substantial bid from the Foxes for McGregor. However, Celtic managed to hold firm, and Callum McGregor is still at the club and is now captain.
Rodgers confirmed that he did try to lure McGregor to the King Power when he left. He believes that McGregor could easily operate at the top end of the Premier League. However, he is now delighted that McGregor’s loyalty to Celtic meant he stayed put.
Opening up on the attempted transfer, Brendan Rodgers said: [RecordSport]
“Did I try to get Callum to Leicester? Yes. I was keen to get him. When I left, you had him and Kieran here. And certainly, when whichever one of them left, the other one was probably never going to get away.
“Kieran was the one who went to Arsenal. But for me, Callum would have been perfect for the Premier League. He could have come in and imposed how I wanted to play.
“He understands how I want to work and he can play in different positions. Callum is tactically brilliant, one of the best I’ve worked with. But I’m really glad he stayed now! And I’m very happy that he’s the captain.
“There’s no question he could have played down there. People say that Scott Brown would never have coped in the Premier League. But my experience of both leagues tells me he’d have played in a top six team in England. And Callum is the same.
“They stayed at Celtic because their happiness is here. Sometimes it’s different for coaches because from their perspective it’s the challenge of working against other top managers and top teams.
“But for Callum, he’s really happy here and he’s really progressed from my first time here. He’s continued to improve and now he’s so important for club and country. For me, he could fit into any of the top teams in England because he can play.”
