Muzzy_Larsson

Agreed, a tremendous player, my only concern would be sometimes players such as this seem to struggle in the EPL for one reason or another. The classic case would Iborra for example, thought he looked a similarly superb player in Spain and thought he would be a very astute signing for you guys, but without having seen him too much in England it looks from the outside that he bombed.

Interesting read this, Rodgers done exactly this to Scott Brown, completely simplified his role when he came in and it led to him being completely re-born as a player and winning player of the year and having some of the best stats for a midfielder in the CL the following season. The season before Brown's legs looked to have gone and be on the way out. I'd wager he'll turn Ndidi into a beast of a player, given he's a lot younger and a lot more athletic. That's how I read this anyway and not as a shape up or ship out threat.

Not really tbh, a large part of our model is buying players cheap or bringing them through the academy and selling them on for profit. I doubt we'd bite our nose off to spite our face and not sell to Leicester, I don't think at board level anyway there is any animosity towards Leicester, quite the opposite in fact given the sufficient compensation and the realisation Rodgers was off sooner rather than later. I think had he left in the summer for example we would have been due significantly less compensation.

How good is Pope with the ball at his feet? Rodgers prioritises that above all else when it comes to goalkeepers from experience. Also given the way Rodgers likes to play from goalkeeper and the back it can be very frustrating with a keeper who isn't great with the ball at his feet as I can testify to in Europe against the top sides.

Another lad who has really impressed and very much in the same mould as Dan James who has a thread on here and Bowen is Jack Clarke of Leeds. Think he is a good bit younger than both mentioned and looks a superb player.

Would be a good signing if you managed to get him.

I guess it's subjective and time will tell but I wholeheartedly disagree.

He looks a very good player, Rodgers really likes him also, he tried to get him on loan at Celtic last season but Liverpool blocked it apparently as there is some animosity still between them and Rodgers and they were apparently not impressed with how he dealt with Musonda.

This might be a bit left field but what about the lad Reiss Nelson at Arsenal. He seems to have done very well in the Bundesliga and Arsenal will have to sell players to raise cash (apparently only have £40m to spend). He certainly fits the profile of the sort of players Rodgers goes for, young, hungry, direct players who he can coach.

Agreed on Rogic, that's basically the reason he's still at Celtic, all things considered I'm willing to put up with that given he's a luxury we can afford in Scotland given the opposition.

I'd agree he was inconsistent but from the minute Rodgers came in the door, so for the last three years he has been pretty consistent for a wide player and his stats in terms of goals, assists and appearances back that up. I made the point about Rogic in another thread, which kind of agrees with your point but if Forrest was at his best week in week out he would have been snatched away from Celtic a long time ago. That said, like I said previously he has come on leaps and bounds in terms of consistency recently. On your Scotland point he's been one of the few plus points in the last 12 months, scoring goals and making assists, scored a hat trick earlier in the season for example. I don't agree with the comparison with Gray at all, I could count on one hand the number of decent games I've ever seen him have and based on that he's probably in the last chance saloon and will end up in the championship in a few years if not careful. I just don't see Gray ever affecting games all that much at all, which Forrest in fairness when he's on song does. You can mark this post and feel free to bump it next year but Gray will be one of the first players Rodgers will bomb out next season, he won't be a regular next season under Rodgers. Gray has 8 goals and 6 assists in three years at Leicester which is a dreadful return, Forrest in Europe alone has probably delivered far more over the same period.

I get your point but he is a slightly different case in that he's a massive fan of the club, genuinely, a lot of it in hindsight with Rodgers was spin to endear himself initially, I think his family were bigger and more genuine fans than he was. Also the fact the club accepted £30m for him in the summer and Rodgers and the board tried to convince him to go and he dug his heels in and wouldn't leave despite being offered £100k a week to do so, that was a £75k per week increase on what he is on just now.

He's not really, I've watched lots of both, I'd wager you've hardly seen Tierney. Chilwell is a fantastic talent however Tierney is also and it's hard to split them, if and when Tierney moves on that will become obvious.

Rogic is a wonderful footballer, probably my favourite player and when he's on song and in the mood he's our best player, capable of moments of magic and the extraordinary, I doubt we could replace him. If he could do what he does best every week he'd have left us long ago and would now be a £60-70m player. The problem with him and the reason why he has been at Celtic for so long in the first place is consistency and fitness, he struggles to last 90 minutes and picks up injuries which impacts his form, he needs a fair few games after coming back from injury for example to get back up to speed.

As far as I know no such clause exists, that's from someone on the inside as well (not me).

He's a terrific player but he's not our best.

Superb player, does everything very well and no real weakness in his game, great at playing and coming out from the back and always defensively switched on and doesn't let anything fluster him, you guys have a hell of a player on your hands. Only slight concern with him is he seems a tad injury prone. However, we typically play in excess of 60 games a season so guess you guys with less games and a stronger squad will be able to manage him better.

Yeah that sounds about right, I couldn't see us getting anything over £20m for him. He's 27 so in his peak years.

I'd never want to lose Tierney for the same reasons you mention about not wanting to lose Chilwell but to get £80m for Chilwell and replace him with Tierney for £40m would be a terrific piece of business. All that said I'd like to see Leicester keep the promising young players they have for a few seasons anyway as will be interesting to see how far they could go.

Yeah fair points, I'm not saying you should go for Forrest, for one I don't want to lose him it was more a point that Rodgers knows what he can do and given what he'd cost he'd probably represent greater value/less of a gamble than shelling out £40m+ from the continent for a complete unknown quantity, many of which players in recent years don't seem to make it at all in the EPL. All that aside, regardless of who it is, to really kick on next season it looks like the wide areas are the positions that are most pressing for you guys to strengthen then a decent back-up for Vardy.

I'd argue with you on the standard of the Championship being better than the SPFL, although more competitive I don't think there's too much in it in terms of quality, there are some bang average players who couldn't get into Old Firm sides who have went down to that league in recent years and been a revelation and even some players who never even stuck out at some of the smaller SPFL clubs. Anyway, talking about the Championship is a moot point in this context as you guys need Barnes to deliver in the EPL. All fair points, I guess like you say he still has a bit of time on his side to add the required end product. However, to break into that top 6 which seems like the target Rodgers has set himself you'll need a far greater quality of wide player than what you have at present. What should also be mentioned is privately Rodgers is pretty ruthless, there may be a few who are on audition already and won't get the same chances next season when he brings in his own players.

Can only talk from personal experience but the improvement both tactically and technically in quite a few of our players from when he took over to when he left was incredible. It's the one single thing he's best at IMO, developing younger players.

I've watched Barnes quite a bit this season both for WBA and Leicester, was actually surprised Leicester brought him back in January as although I felt he done well in the matches for West Brom this season it probably said more about Leicester's lack of decent options wide than the fact he ripped up the championship or anything like that. Since coming back to Leicester he severely lacks in end product for me (which his stats reflect) most games I've saw him which nowadays for a winger/inside-forward is critical, if he's going to be playing regularly in the EPL he needs to be doing that, regardless of his age, he's 21 also not ultra young and really needs to get that into his game in the next year or so or he won't be at Leicester long. There are other English wide players of a similar age and younger showing far more for example. Like you say he has time on his side, but not tons of it and if you want to break into the top 6 you really need better imo and this is my point about Forrest and being careful about looking down your nose at him just because he plays in Scotland. He has more combined goals and assists than any midfielder in Europe and yes I get the opposition argument but he is one of a few players we have that constantly delivers good performances and goals against the top sides in Europe. Ryan Fraser I think is one of the most productive wide players in the EPL just now and although a very good player is not quite as good as Forrest yet and performances for the national team show just this.

I'd back Rodgers to turn Ndidi into a beast of a player, he has all the raw attributes required to be a superb player he just needs some polishing and refinement and this is exactly what Rodgers is great at.