Brendan Rodgers has revisited the financial backing issues he faced at Celtic by issuing a strong claim on Leicester City's ability to do transfer business.
The Northern Irishman has lamented the difference between his side and Saudi-backed Newcastle United as the two Premier League sides are set for battle in the League Cup. He is hopeful of new recruits this month after Wout Faes was the only outfield signing last year, with the Foxes being bolstered by the huge £70million departure of star man Wesley Fofana to Chelsea.
But the former Celtic boss, who faced his own issues in Glasgow over financial stimulus, admits he simply cannot wave a magic wand to compete with the likes of the Toon over big spending. "I think I'm a decent coach, but I'm not a magician," said the Foxes boss.
"If you look at our net spend since I've been here, it's about £10million, in the three-and-half years I've been here. Compare that to our competitors, like Aston Villa, West Ham, Newcastle. It's over £250million. It's a big difference.
"If you look at Newcastle's net spend in the last year, along with the fantastic coaching of Eddie (Howe) and his staff plus the infrastructure from where they were to where they are now, they're looking to build and create something.
"They'll do it wisely and sensibly, but they have the resources to do that. So that's the modern game and there's no doubt they join that bracket. Look at some of the other teams - Aston Villa's net spend over the last few years, West Ham too. It's becoming a real challenge."
He previously said on investment at Celtic: "I think we had qualified for the Champions League two seasons running. We’d won the Double Treble, we’d brought great investment into the club.
“But I felt to make the next steps in Europe, we needed investment. It was a little bit of…I don’t think the club had that investment to put in, to compete at that level. It was also the challenge. It was such a difficult thing to leave because of the friends, the club and everything."
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