This morning, Celtic Football Club announced on its website that they have given permission for Brendan Rodgers to speak to Leicester City with regards to their vacant managerial position. It seems likely that the Northern Irishman will be off to the Foxes, but is it a step up for him or not?
Rodgers has been in the hot seat in Glasgow for two and a half years now and in that time, he’s won every domestic competition there is to win North of the border. For one thing, he’s done everything he can do with the Scottish giants so maybe this is the right time to move on.
Leicester have only been manager-less since Sunday morning when they relieved Claude Puel of his duties following the humiliating 4-1 home loss to Crystal Palace. The Foxes sit 12th in the league and have failed to pick up a win since New Years day – it’s fair to say that this was coming.
Despite the fact Leicester are a mid-table Premier League side and Celtic are perennial title challengers in the SPFL, this move is still a step up for Rodgers. The fact remains, the English Premier League is far superior in quality to the SPFL. If you were to plonk Celtic in the Premier League, as hard as it is for them to hear, they would be relegation candidates rather than title challengers.
Leicester City currently have a host of young, top quality English players at their disposal in the likes of Harvey Barnes, Demarai Gray, Ben Chilwell and James Maddison. They won the league just a couple of years ago and Rodgers will have plenty of cash to splash. They have enough squad depth to field decent sides in the cups and push for another bit of silverware too. The fact is, the club have all the foundations to push on and challenge for a place in that elusive top six.
Alternatively, Rodgers could stay at Celtic and continue to win every trophy under the sun relatively unopposed, continuously get knocked out of the Europa League and move no further forward in his career. Rodgers has been biding his time and waiting for another opportunity to prove himself in England – this is that opportunity. Everything is there ready and waiting for him to make a huge splash on his return.
How have the Leicester fans reacted?
Leicester fans seem to quite happy with the news:
On the other hand, Celtic fans are NOT impressed:
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