Celtic boss key to shock interest in 20-goal veteran as injured star spotted 'supporting' EPL giants

The 30-year-old previously played under Rodgers at Liverpool, making 95 appearances during the manager’s time at Anfield from 2012 to 2015, but is currently out of favour at Stamford Bridge and has been training separately from the main squad, with the club looking to offload him.

The England international spent last season on loan at Arsenal, but struggled to make a tangible impact, failing to score in 17 league appearances at the Emirates. Expected to leave the Blues permanently in the summer, Napoli, Bayern Munich, and Galatasaray were all credited with interest in the player, though he remained at Chelsea when the window slammed shut.

His availability is now said to be leading Celtic to potentially consider an ambitious January move for the 82-cap star, with journalist Steve Kay claiming that Rodgers’ trust in him as a teenager at Liverpool, which proved pivotal to him becoming one of Europe’s most dangerous attackers, still holds weight with Sterling and his representatives. While not currently part of Thomas Tuchel’s squad, he has played a major role for the Three Lions over the last decade, scoring 20 international goals.

The player’s reported £300,000-a-week wages are a clear stumbling block. However, the report says that Celtic are ‘willing to contribute’ around one sixth of his salary in order to make a loan move financially viable for themselves, and hope it could tempt the Blues into allowing him to move across the border on a six-month loan.

While Chelsea are believed to be keen to move the veteran forward on permanently, it has been claimed that a temporary switch to Celtic could be considered by the London giants, with Sterling’s contract still having almost two years to run. However, as per the BBC, a move to the Scottish Premiership could be a non-starter, with the 30-year-old keen to stay in the south of England, with his family settled in London, and his son is enrolled in Arsenal's academy.

Meanwhile, Celtic right-back Alistair Johnston may have missed out on Champions League qualification with the Hoops this season, but has still managed to catch some of the action after being spotted ‘supporting’ Newcastle United prior to last night’s 2-1 League Phase defeat against Barcelona at St James’ Park. Currently out with a hamstring injury, the 25-year-old recently spoke about his love for Celtic, alongside his future aspirations to play in the English Premier League, via Park the Bus Podcast earlier this week.

"I'm a player that I've sometimes probably struggled when I get satisfied to a degree, I get comfortable,” he said. “I think that's sometimes when my game can lag a little bit because I rely so much on my physicality, my mental fortitude of being so locked in that sometimes I like being out of my comfort zone. That's what really brings out the best in me. The Premier League is obviously a dream, I think, of pretty much every player. It's the highest level that you can play at. But luckily, in my time here at Celtic, I've been able to play in some pretty big matches too in the Champions League.

"To truly answer your question, of course, I have aspirations to potentially play in some of the biggest leagues in the world. But at the same time, I'm really happy here. I'm really settled here. It's a great city, a great fanbase that truly loves and appreciates me. The grass isn't always greener - we've seen that quite a few times."

Sign up to The Scotsman’s daily football newsletter to get unrivalled Scottish football news and analysis - subscribe for free here.