Why Celtic need to strengthen in these five key areas

Celtic will enter the newly revamped Champions League competition this season and will have a minimum of eight games in European football's elite tournament. The Northern Irishman is well aware of the need for reinforcements. He was already preparing himself for a summer recruitment drive long before the end of last season.

There may well be a gaping hole in Celtic's head of recruitment role at the time of writing but it didn't stop the 51-year-old from letting everybody know that the club would be stepping up their efforts in the summer to bring in the quality required and adding strength in depth to the current pool of players.

Despite Mark Lawwell and chief scout Joe Dudgeon signalling their intentions to exit the building in the summer, Rodgers was pressing on regardless and to use his own neat turn of phrase 'getting to work'. It remains to be seen if the club will replace Lawwell in the head of recruitment role or if Rodgers would prefer to operate without one and have total control over all football matters.

READ MORE: Why Celtic's £34 million valuation of O'Riley is realistic

For the time being, Rodgers is Celtic's head of recruitment, chief scout and football manager all rolled into one until the club announces otherwise. So it was no surprise back in May when Rodgers uttered these words: “There are definitely certain positions we would want to have finalised sooner rather than later.

"Ideally, if we can do that it would be great but what’s really important for us for this summer is getting the level of quality that I want into the squad. That will be absolutely key for the growth of this team. The guys this season have been absolutely fantastic but next season we need more depth in the squad. We have some fantastic players here and we want to add to that.”

Rodgers wants to build something lasting at Celtic. Like Ange Postecoglou before him, he is in the construction, not the deconstruction business.

Celtic are in a good place. They are sitting on a big cash surplus. There is no need to sell any of their prized assets. Rodgers will have to trim a lot of the deadwood from the wage bill but that’s more to do with a Lawwell/Dudgeon legacy who got the recruitment so drastically wrong last summer that you wouldn't blame Rodgers for going it alone this time around without any interference from outside. Rodgers simply cannot and will not let anybody jeopardise his plans for the future.

So ideally, where should Celtic strengthen this summer?

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Goalkeeper

READ MORE: Why Celtic should replace Joe Hart with Peter Vindahl Jensen

Goalkeepers cost money - big money. Rodgers is well aware that whoever comes in is going to have to fill big shoes and gloves in terms of their on and off-the-field presence after Joe Hart announced he was retiring.

This is a crucial position and Celtic have known since February that the former England and Manchester City shot-stopper was calling it quits. There has not been a goalkeeper plying his trade in Europe that Celtic have not been linked with since the transfer window opened. Rodgers will be taking his time on this signing in particular and proper due diligence will be the order of the day. The £5 million plus that Celtic lashed out on Greek international Vasilis Barkas still stings. Celtic cannot afford to make such a costly mistake again. This is why the pursuit of a high-calibre candidate for Hart is a major priority for Rodgers this summer.

Conversely, for every Barkas there has been a Hart, Fraser Forster and Artur Boruc. So Celtic's strike rate in that department is more hit than miss. Rodgers will want someone youngish but experienced enough to be able to command the penalty area, organise the defence and be good with a ball at their feet. That helps instil confidence in everybody else around them. Ironically Celtic needs two goalkeepers this summer as Benjamin Siegrist has indicated that he has called time on his contract leaving just Scott Bain as the only bonafide first-team No.1 on the club's books at this moment. A backup shot-stopper can wait. Unearthing an undisputed goalkeeper is a pressing necessity.

Many names are being tossed around like the proverbial goalkeeping gloves. This is arguably the most vital signing that Celtic will make this season. The club has to get it bang on. Timing may well be of the essence as Rodgers will want a goalkeeper in before the start of pre-season but if it takes a little longer to sign the right man for the job then so be it. Rodgers and the Celtic supporters will want to know their club is in safe hands.

Left-back

Greg Taylor racked up three goals and five assists in 43 appearances across all competitions this season. Those figures are admirable but when he got injured Alexandro Bernabei showed why Rodgers doesn't rate him and why the Argentine spent the second half of last season on loan at Internacional.

Celtic badly need a left back to not only challenge Taylor but to overtake him in the pecking order. Taylor's lack of height has been well documented but opposition teams did subject Celtic to an aerial bombardment at times last season and got a lot of joy and goals into the bargain with bread-and-butter crosses to the back post. Further proof if any was needed was the loss of two last-minute goals against Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden Park where Taylor was deliberately targeted as a weak link.

READ MORE: Why Celtic may need to rebuild their squad this summer

Celtic have enquired about players in the left-back berth but have had no success thus far. Owen Beck, Tiago Araujo and Hugo Bueno were all names linked but none of them arrived at Lennoxtown. That simply has to change in the summer. Celtic do have a couple of young left-backs who they could turn to in the shape of academy graduate Matthew Anderson who spent time on loan last season at Admira Wacker and Mitchel Frame who featured in the Champions League win over Feyenoord. Rodgers may well be reluctant to throw either into the first-team fray just yet.

Whatever Rodgers decides Celtic cannot contemplate competing in the Champions League with Taylor as the only recognisable left-back at the club. That would represent gross negligence of duty. Taylor needs stiff competition, as well as a ferocious competitor for his spot, come the new campaign. Whilst Taylor has been an excellent servant for Celtic in the left-back role since 2019 there needs to be new blood drafted in if the club is to move forward and progress, especially in the European arena.

Centre-half

Not just any centre-half for Celtic. Preferably a left-sided centre-back. Scott McKenna is available on a free transfer, I hear you say. It's a signing that sounds like the ultimate no-brainer, isn't it? Rodgers is well aware of McKenna. He's been an admirer for some time in the ex-Aberdeen and Nottingham Forest stopper. McKenna remains a person of interest and ticks many boxes. Watch this space.

It is a massive indictment of the recruitment strategy that Celtic signed three centre-backs last season and were forced to rely on a defender who had slipped so far down the pecking order that he was almost ushered out of the exit door. Liam Scales did a job for the club but he is not the long-term answer for Celtic as Cameron Carter-Vickers partner.

Rodgers clearly does not fancy or trust Swede Gustaf Lagerbielke or Polish international Maik Nawrocki which means Celtic are in the market for another central defender. Austrian international defender Flavius Daniliuc is also reputedly on the club's radar after RB Salzburg decided against taking up their loan-option-to-buy on the stopper. The recruiting of a top-class and high-quality defender to sit in tandem alongside Carter-Vickers is as imperative an addition as a new goalkeeper.

READ MORE: Why Celtic should sign the 'man-mountain' on a free transfer

The Scottish Cup semi-final display against Aberdeen will most certainly have convinced Rodgers of that outcome. This summer has to be the end of the line for the likes of Lagerbielke and Japanese defender Yuki Kobayashi. Nawrocki, Stephen Welsh and Scales will function as squad players at best. Out of all the players that have left Celtic in recent times, the loss of Carl Starfelt is the one that has arguably been felt the most. The Swede formed a formidable partnership with Carter-Vickers as the duo lost just one domestic game when they started together at the back of the pack. There have even been murmurings of Starfelt returning to Glasgow. Stranger things have happened.

Celtic's defence requires a rebuild and as time ticks on it becomes a matter of priority and urgency. If the new Celtic are to compete in the new Champions League then there has to be a recalibration, a reset, a rethink. That starts a radical reshaping and restructuring of the Celtic defence as Rodgers cannot afford to go into the new-look European tournament with the same central defenders at their disposal - Carter-Vickers apart, of course.

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Midfielder

Does Celtic need a midfielder? There is an argument to suggest that they do. Speculation is rife that Matt O'Riley is linked with Atletico Madrid and Newcastle United. Let's see if Celtic's £34 million evaluation of their prized asset scares any of his suitors off.

However, Celtic could do with a quality midfielder in the Victor Wanyama mould - someone who adds a physical presence, steel, height and is tenacious in the tackle. Rodgers will know that the midfield currently lacks that particular skill set. A midfielder of that calibre and quality would come in handy for the Champions League. Celtic will need to be more robust when they go in against the elite-level teams this season and that's a fact.

READ MORE: The view from Portugal on Celtic loanee Paulo Bernardo

The club are still hopeful of persuading Benfica to part with Portugal under-21 midfielder Paulo Bernardo who enjoyed a decent loan spell in Glasgow and conjured up some big moments in the campaign not least of which was a goal against Rangers and his part in Adam Idah's Scottish Cup-winning strike. There is much improvement in Bernardo and Rodgers could be the man with the key to unlock his real potential.

Top Swiss talent Alvyn Sanches has also been mooted as a potential signing. The midfielder plays for FC Lausanne-Sport in Switzerland's Super League and scored six goals in 27 appearances. Sanches is a man in demand with numerous clubs from the English Championship and further afield on the continent also tracking the 21-year-old prospect.

A midfielder is not an immediate priority for Rodgers per se as Celtic are still well stocked in that area for the time being but a refresh always helps progress and keeps the current squad on their toes. A ball-playing, imposing and intimidating presence in the middle of the park would go a long way to helping Celtic make an impression where Rodgers and the supporters crave it most. The European scene.

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Striker

Rodgers has made no secret of the fact that he wants to bring back Idah after the Republic of Ireland striker's highly successful loan spell after he signed from Norwich City in January. Nine goals yielded 16 league points for Celtic and a Scottish Premiership and Scottish Cup triumph. Rodgers is well aware that if Idah could replicate those numbers across a whole season then Celtic would have a dynamic forward on their hands to co-exist and complement Japanese goalscoring talisman Kyogo Furuhashi.

New Norwich City boss Johannes Hoff Thorup understandably wants to have a look at Idah and it is rumoured that the Canaries have slapped an £8 million price tag on the attacker's head. Celtic do have the financial wherewithal to afford such a deal especially if Oh Hyeon-gyu concludes a £4.2 million transfer to Belgian outfit Genk. Rodgers is definitely after a big powerful, physical, focal point up front and Idah ticks all his boxes.

READ MORE: The striker that Celtic MUST sign according to club greats

Celtic have also been constantly linked with Aberdeen attacker Bojan Miovski as well as Swedish football Brondby star Mathias Kvistgaarden who were both on Celtic's radar back in January but Rodgers' preferred choice remains Idah. Idah took Scottish football by storm in the second half of last season and whilst Kyogo is still a wonderful option to lead the line there is plenty of evidence to suggest that Idah’s arrival at Parkhead would help relieve some of the attacking burden from the Japanese international's shoulders.

It would also give Rodgers options in attack and present the opportunity to mix it at the Champions League level. The return of Idah would be the biggest statement of intent by Rodgers and the Celtic hierarchy yet. He is a player who would enable Celtic to play as Rodgers said with 'pace and power'. The acquisition of a striker is another pivotal position as it would complete the spine of the team and it is certainly another key area in which Celtic needs to strengthen most.