The Celtic manager gave a terse nod of the head to say 'no' back in March. The answer to the question remains the same today. Lawrence Shankland will not be signing for Celtic. Brendan Rodgers rates him, but he doesn't want to sign him.

Why? Here's a hot take coming in. Shankland would struggle to get on the Celtic bench let alone out on the pitch. That might be harsh but it is also factual. Four months ago Rodgers was full of praise for Shankland as he admitted that the player was on Celtic's radar when he was the Parkhead boss the first time around. Rodgers said this: "I really enjoy watching him.

"When I was here the first time he was a player that was on the radar. I heard people speak about and any time I saw him in clips you could see he was a goalscorer. Having come back and seen him in the Premiership playing, he's a boy who looks super concentrated in the games. He's got really good technique, uses his body well to protect the ball, and scores all types of goals.

"So he's a very good player and one that we have to manage well."

There is only one striker on Rodgers' radar for Celtic. It is not Shankland. That man is Norwich City and Republic of Ireland striker Adam Idah. Rodgers spelt it out to the Celtic hierarchy then after the Scottish Cup final win over Rangers in May when the Republic of Ireland attacker netted the winner in a 1-0 win at Hampden Park.

The 51-year-old said: “The board know how I feel about Adam, that was the reason for bringing him in. He’s been a real catalyst for us, especially over the last few months. I knew what I was getting because I’d seen him in the Premier League at 18. He has all the attributes. He’s fast, dynamic, and strong and I felt with better positioning he’d get goals.

“What he’s done since coming in is show that he’s a goalscorer. He gets different types of goals. He has great movement in the box and he deals with pressure moments. Today, he was like a real number nine sniffing in and around the box. He’s been absolutely immense for us and he’s clearly someone I’d like to do something with.

"He’s still got a long-term deal at Norwich but he’s definitely someone I’d love to bring back here. At 23, with the potential he has and the qualities he has, I think he can really push on in his career.”

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That's unequivocal. It's now up to Celtic and Norwich City to thrash out a deal for the player which suits both parties over the course of the next 30 days.

As for Shankland, nobody is decrying his goal-getting ability. He is to all intents and purposes Scottish football's version of a Poundland Harry Kane. Shankland’s goal-scoring record in Scotland’s top flight speaks for itself. The 28-year-old has scored 59 goals in 94 appearances since signing for Hearts in 2022. Last season Shankland was at the peak of his powers and enjoyed a stellar campaign.

The Scotland international bagged 31 goals across all competitions - 21 of them were coming in the top flight. He also waltzed off with the SFWA Player of the Year and PFA Scotland Player of the Year awards and was part of Steve Clarke's Scotland squad that headed to Germany for this summer's European Championships. Life probably won't get any better for Shankland in his career unless he signs for Rangers. It will do for Idah. Time is on his side.

However, with the best will in the world, the long-term Rangers signing target would not displace Kyogo Furuhashi or Idah in the Celtic starting line-up. Rodgers admires Shankland's goalscoring prowess but that's it. He is a good player but he doesn't fit the bill that the Irishman is looking for. Shankland is not the striker that Rodgers desperately craves to take Celtic forward domestically or in Europe for that matter.

If Celtic had Kyogo, Idah and Shankland at their disposal, the latter would spend most of his time on a watching brief either on the bench or in the stands. He would be the third-choice striker at the club. That's not a slight on Shankland's ability. It's just how it is.

Rodgers' prototype striker is a focal point up front who can score goals, is good with his back to goal, can play the channels, can line the play and is robust and possesses a certain physical presence. In short, a more agile attacker than Shankland. Watch a re-run of Idah's star turn on the night Celtic clinched the title against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park. Idah was unplayable and Rodgers glimpsed the future for Celtic in the striking role.

(Image: Rob Casey - SNS Group)

It's fair comment to say that Shankland has a more languid style than Idah for example despite being a lethal penalty box predator. Yet surprisingly scoring goals like Shankland would do as a Celtic striker is not enough to warrant a place in Rodgers' teams. Players simply have to produce and offer more. They have to be more rounded as a footballer for this manager. Just ask Kyogo.

Celtic are certainly not going to shell out £3-5 million on a striker who can sign a pre-contract agreement with any interested parties from January onwards. Shankland is not as some would have you believe an Idah alternative. He is far from it. He would not improve Celtic currently nor would he fit the club's business model criteria.

Stories linking Shankland with Celtic appear on the surface to be a non-starter or mischief-making at best. He is not a Rodgers-type signing and never will be. The social media speculation and links smack of a lame attempt to feign some remote Celtic interest so that the headline: 'Shankland knocked back Celtic to sign for boyhood idols Rangers' can be written if the transfer was ever to happen. Celtic are not interested in Shankland for a valid reason. He is simply not good enough for Celtic.

Celtic have come a long way since the days when they gazumped Rangers for a deal to take Scott Allan from Hibs in the summer of 2015 from right under the noses of their rivals. Back then Celtic flexed their financial muscle over Rangers because they could and didn't want a potentially good player doing damage to them for their rivals. It made some kind of sense at the time. However, it was grade 'A' shithousery from Celtic. Allan didn't feature as regular as he would have liked for Celtic much to the Rangers supporters' frustrations. They in turn blamed Celtic for ruining the player's promising and flourishing career in the process.

The same thing won't happen with Shankland. Rangers can have Shankland and are welcome to him if they are prepared to stump up the money this summer or wait until January to see if they can agree on a pre-contract arrangement.

Shankland for Celtic? The rumours all started on social media and the X or Twitter platforms. I'm with Rodgers wholeheartedly on this one. I'm currently doing what is known in social media and text speak as 'smh'. That's 'shaking my head' to those who don't know. The same kind of head nod Rodgers performed when he was asked the 'Shankland to Celtic' question back in March.

In a Dragon's Den style - Rodgers is out. In a Two Ronnies style - it's a no from him and it's a no from me.