Celtic title winner makes Callum McGregor transfer confession as 23-goal striker completes record move

The 52-year-old boss returned to management with Al Qadsiah just seven weeks after resigning from his role as head coach at Parkhead, and is reportedly plotting a shock transfer move to sign his former captain McGregor, with the Saudi side said to be ready to hand a megabucks contract to the ex-Scotland international to lure him to the Middle East.

An integral part of Rodgers’ side during his two stints as Celtic manager, the Northern Irishman is said to view the 32-year-old as a key addition. However, the Scottish champions are unlikely to let McGregor go without a fight, with the player still having two-and-a-half years left to run on his current contract.

"If I was Brendan I would try and take him right away,” Ayr United boss Brown told The Breakdown. “There's a lot of money in Saudi. One thing about every football team, you are a selling team. We can all say 'we don't want to let him go', but at the end of the day, money does talk. If it's going to benefit Celtic, if it's going to benefit Cal... you never know what can happen. But will Cal want to leave, really, to go to Saudi? I don't really think so. He enjoys his football, he enjoys being at the club. He's done a great job."

“I think you need to keep Callum McGregor in that team. Keep Callum no matter what. Because he knows the club, knows what it's all about. He's won so many trophies over the years and he’s Mr. Reliable. I think that's a big thing. Celtic need to get back to that core in the middle of the park, centre-half and centre forward, reliable, robust.

“Callum looks after himself unbelievable. That's why he plays week in, week out. He's probably one of the best pros that I've ever seen. He plays 65 games a season, he gave up Scotland to focus on his Celtic career. Which is fantastic because it'll hopefully give him that longevity.”

Elsewhere, former Celtic striking target Louis Munteanu has completed a record-breaking move to MLS outfit DC United just six months after the club saw a reported £7.2million offer rejected for the Romanian international. The CFR Cluj frontman had been linked to the Scottish champions during the summer transfer window after scoring 23 goals in the SuperLiga last year. However, they were unsuccessful in their attempt to lure the 23-year-old to Glasgow, with his club holding out for a fee closer to £16million.

Munteanu’s frustration over the club’s high asking price saw him withdraw from the club’s first-team plans in protest. While he returned to the first-team picture in recent weeks, the young forward scored just two goals, leading to the Transylvania-based side sanctioning a move to DC United, where he has agreed a club-record deal of around $7million plus add-ons, which could take the total fee to $10m.

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