'Really excited': What Celtic are getting in Jeffrey Schlupp and when fans may first see him

The 32-year-old Ghanaian internationalist has spent the vast majority of his career playing in the top two leagues of English football, but out of the picture at Palace, the left-sided utility player agreed a move north until the end of the current campaign.

Schlupp, who is predominantly a left-back but can play in midfield and in attack too, was Celtic’s only signing on the final day of the transfer window and while his arrival was muted by the failure to land a new centre forward, Rodgers explained that the former Leicester City man will have a vital part to play between now and the end of the season.

“Firstly, his mentality will fit in with the culture here,” Rodgers said on Schlupp. “I’ve never worked with Jeffrey before, but I've come across him. Obviously, he came through at Leicester City as a young player and won the league there.

“Speaking to the guys at that time talked about what a good guy he was and what a fantastic player he was. He was multifunctional for them. Incredible pace and power. Obviously, he moved on to Crystal Palace. And you can see when he played there a lot of the times in my latter stages there at Leicester, he was a centre midfield player, and he played very well. “He offers a great option for us in a couple of positions.”

Rodgers felt he needed to bring in another left-back to compete with Greg Taylor after Barcelona loanee Alex Valle’s time at the club was cut short by the Spaniard’s sale to Como.

"Greg's been brilliant for us this season,” continued Rodgers. “Probably when I look back, we didn’t bring in a left-back to cover him last season and I went with Liam Scales as a cover left-back. But I just felt that I didn't want to take that risk this January. So, we bring him in.

“He's naturally left-sided. Physicality is really good. You know, he's Premier League physicality, running power, touching the ball and, of course, the experience. He's really excited about being here and I'm looking forward to spending the next four months with him.

“He's ready to go. A really good level of fitness and, like I said, he'll really enjoy playing at this club.”

Rodgers confirmed that Schlupp will be in contention to play against Dundee on Wednesday at home in the Premiership.