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Celtic sent transfer warning as Brendan Rodgers plots to spend cash in January - EXCLUSIVE
CELTIC must accept that players will want to leave when things get too easy in the Scottish Premiership.
Brendan Rodgers hopes for Celtic family to come together in 2019
That is the view of former Celtic boss John Barnes, who reckons the Hoops have suffered the same problems as Bayern Munich in recent years.
Celtic head into the transfer window top of the Scottish Premiership and keen to recruit players.
But manager Brendan Rodgers is also determined to retain his top stars.
Celtic have in recent years surrendered to clubs with more money in the transfer market, reluctantly selling the likes of Stuart Armstrong, Moussa Dembele and Virgil van Dijk.
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Look at Bayern Munich, it’s the same thing that they’re going through
But Barnes reckons the relative lack of competition in the Scottish Premiership in recent years has triggered those departures.
And he hopes that now the title race is once again competitive that the Hoops will thrive with the talent they have.
“It’s been so easy for them that it’s difficult to maintain that level of football,” Barnes, speaking exclusively for bookmaker comparison platform BonusCodeBets.co.uk, told Express Sport over the festive period.
“Look at Bayern Munich, it’s the same thing that they’re going through, where you win so confidently week in week out, but the harmony isn’t right.
“Boyata wanted to leave in the summer, Dembele left, so having players who are happy to be there and who have something to prove will play with an intensity to show that.
“A lot of them are like ‘well, do I really want to be here?’ and the harmony is so important.”
Celtic face Airdrieonians in the Scottish FA Cup on Saturday, having lost the Old Firm at Rangers 1-0 last weekend.
They have already won the Scottish League Cup this term and a third successive treble is on the cards.
Brendan Rodgers: Celtic are getting better and better
Express Sport understands the Hoops are trying to sign Vakoun Issouf Bayo from Slovakian club Dunajska Streda.
However, they face a battle over the defender as Rapid Vienna plot a rival swoop.
Celtic have been quoted £2.3m for the Ivorian.
West Brom’s Oliver Burke is another man on their radar and there is hope the 21-year-old can arrive in Glasgow by the end of the week.