Brendan Rodgers is weighing up the biggest decision of his life after receiving a personal intervention from Dermot Desmond to lure him back to Celtic.
Record Sport understands the former Invincible Parkhead boss remains at his family holiday home in Majorca where he is mulling over a shock return after Desmond persuaded him to meet face-to-face with chief executive Michael Nicholson and chief financial officer Chris McKay.
The top level delegation was invited to fly to the Spanish island after Desmond held two telephone conversations with Rodgers, during which he asked the 50-year-old to consider cutting short a planned year long sabbatical from the game following his sacking at Leicester. Major shareholder Desmond left Rodgers in no doubt about the strength of the club’s desire to bring him back to Glasgow, four years after he faced a furious backlash from supporters for leaving them for the King Power.
And Nicholson and McKay followed up on Desmond’s love bombs with a presentation outlining the current structure in place behind the scenes and emphasising their ambitions to make Celtic more competitive in the Champions League. Now the 50-year-old has been given time to chew over the prospect of making a major lifestyle U-turn and throwing himself straight back into the firing line of life in Glasgow’s footballing battlefield.
Rodgers and his wife Charlotte were left badly shaken when intruders broke into the family home in 2019, just days after he had left the city to begin work at Leicester. The masked thieves made off with some Celtic memorabilia while Charlotte locked herself in the couple’s en suite bathroom. And that terrifying, deeply sinister experience has left deep scars with both.
That’s why Rodgers has asked for time to mull over his next move but the fact that he is giving it such extensive consideration has encouraged Desmond and the rest of Celtic’s command chain.
Rodgers may even conclude that, by accepting an offer to return, he would finally put to bed the long held belief that he was disingenuous about his affection for the club and its supporters in the first place. On the contrary, it’s the enormous emotional pull of going back to Parkhead which is believed to be tipping the scales in Celtic’s favour.
Record Sport understands Rodgers has already swatted aside similar approaches from at least two mid ranked English Premier League sides since his sacking at Leicester, where the likes of Crystal Palace have been testing the market place in recent weeks. But he has found it much more difficult to say no to Celtic’s advances, especially since Desmond ramped up the negotiations in person.
As part of the discussions it’s understood Rodgers has made it clear he would want John Kennedy to remain at the club, despite the assistant coach seemingly setting his heart on being reunited with Ange Postecoglou at Spurs.
Kennedy also enjoyed a close working relationship with Rodgers during their time together at Celtic and could be inclined to stay put and turn down Postecoglou if his former boss is confirmed as the Aussie’s successor.
While Celtic wait for an answer from Rodgers they have also made initial contact with a list of fall-back candidates. Record Sport revealed that 34-year-old Franacesco Farioli is one of those to have held discussions. Sources in Amsterdam, meanwhile, believe Bodo Glimt boss Kjetil Knutson has knocked back a life changing move to Ajax because he too has been contacted by the Scottish champions. Ajax confirmed that they have, instead, made an official approach for permission to speak with Sparta Rotterdam manager Maurice Steijn.
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