Brendan Rodgers plots TWO Celtic midfield transfer signings as Matt O'Riley contingency loaded

Brendan Rodgers wants to sign a new midfielder for Celtic even if Matt O'Riley stays.

The 23-year-old is in high demand this summer has been attracting the attentions of a number of Premier League clubs as well as abroad. Atalanta were the most aggressive in their attempts with a number of offers submitted to the Hoops, but none met the asking price and the Italians look to have dropped their interest by signing an alternative.

Southampton were another club to cool their interest but Brighton were at one stage reported to be in talks with the Scottish champions. Any club looking to do a deal now has less than two weeks in which to do it and O'Riley has been sticking to the task of performing in the Hoops midfield.

Any exit would mean he needs replaced in the engine room but the manager has revealed it is a position he wants to strengthen in. If the Dane moves on, he would look to add too.

The Northern Irishman said: "I haven't heard anything different than last week so there’s nothing new to add. His mentality is phenomenal.

"He’s a player that's continued to grow and you see the confidence that he's playing the game with. I still think we need another player in that position. If he was to go, we'd need two more."

It is not just in midfield he wants to add, with left-back among the pressing areas, and Rodgers added: "I will need to speak to the board. There's a lot of work going on and there’s lots that we need to do, but for now it's really about the players that are here.

"They're doing a brilliant job. We know where we want to strengthen and I'm pretty hopeful that we can do that.

"I’m an experienced manager who knows that you need a strong squad as it’s a long season. Come September, there are more games and they're more intense. So we have to have a squad ready for that."