Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has revealed that he did try to sign captain Callum McGregor when he was at Leicester in the summer of 2020.

However, Rodgers claims that Kieran Tierney’s departure for Arsenal a year earlier meant that getting the Hoops to agree to sell McGregor became doubly difficult.

“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.”

It should be pointed out that it was Rodgers who helped McGregor become the player he is today, during his first spell in charge. In Rodgers’ first season as manager, the midfielder really began to hit his stride and establish himself as a key first team player and he hasn’t looked back from there.

Following in a Celtic legend’s footsteps

Despite the Leicester rumours and links to other Premier League teams over the years, there is no doubting now that McGregor will be a one-club man.

On top of that, McGregor has developed into a leader, much like his predecessor in the role, Scott Brown. It’s very rare that you see players so committed to the cause as both McGregor and Brown have been and Hoops fans clearly appreciate how the pair have set the standards for the club during a period of unparalleled dominance.