Brendan Rodgers wants Lee Congerton to unearth the next Philippe Countinho.
Fresh from winning the title and signing a new four year contract the hoops boss is spelling out exactly what he intends to do next.
Projects and squad men don’t interest Rodgers who wants to bring in high end quality to his side to make them competitive in Europe.
The obvious names are unlikely to be interested in Celtic regardless of Rodgers’ presence but with the help of his new recruitment manager the Irishman is setting his sights high.
“We have a very clever board so if we can make an investment of £8.5m, and in two years it can get you £40m to £50m, then I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t do that,” Rodgers explained in the Scotsman.
“You look at what you can gain against the risk. There is talent out there and we will always look to get it. Plus, as a Celtic supporter, I know what they want.
“They have always had someone with the magic, someone who gets them up off their feet. Hence the reason I brought in Scott Sinclair, who gets them up off their seat. We’ll be looking for that.
“There will always be a ceiling, I respect that. It’s not an open cheque book but I feel the board will always do everything they possibly can to get the right type of players in that we want.
“I’ve had those conversations, we know exactly where we are with all of that.”
Rodgers added: “The reason I brought in Lee Congerton was because he’s one of the best at it. This is the guy who found me Coutinho. No-one would have heard of Coutinho otherwise.
“When I worked at Chelsea I remember Lee being away in South America. He came back and told me about two players who were 14 or 15. He said ‘wow, there are two players out there we’ve got to try and ?get’. It was Coutinho and ?Neymar.
the profile and everything has to be right to fit in with the club. “But Coutinho at 14 was great. He was at Vasco da Gama and Chelsea tried to do a deal, but they’d already done one with Inter Milan. He went there at 16 but I was always aware of him. Then when I was at Liverpool I got the guys to find out about him. Inter Milan were struggling for money and young players very rarely got a chance. So it was an opportunity for us to get him.
“He cost £8.5million, that’s what we got him for. What’s he worth now? But no-one knew of Coutinho. But he was in our team at 19 and he flourishes. So there is talent out there and we will always look to get it.”
Aiden McGeady was the closest that Celtic have come to finding a number 10 since the departure of Lubo Moravcik.
Tom Rogic and Stuart Armstrong both provide plenty of options in attacking midfield roles but from his comments the Celtic boss is looking to add some magic to the mix.
Having gone on record with his transfer requirements it’ll be a summer of excitement for Celtic fans as they wait to discover the signing that is a mix of Sinclair and Countinho.