Postecoglou messed up with Celtic “disgrace” who’s now set to be sold

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers is closing in on yet another trophy in his career in Glasgow after reaching the final of the League Cup on Saturday.

A 6-0 win over Aberdeen at the weekend at Hampden Park has set up a final clash with Rangers, providing the boss with an opportunity to win the competition for the first time since his return to Parkhead.

The Hoops won the Scottish Premiership title and the SFA Cup during the 2023/24 campaign, which means that this is the only domestic trophy missing for Rodgers this time around.

He came in to replace Ange Postecoglou in the summer of 2023, after his move to Tottenham Hotspur, and there were big shoes to fill, after the Australian’s great work in the transfer market during his time at Celtic.

Ange Postecoglou’s best signings for Celtic

The former Hoops boss struck gold with a number of signings throughout his two years with the Scottish giants, particularly with his work in the Asian market.

Japan international Reo Hatate was one of his finest pieces of business, as the central midfielder was brought in for £1.4m and was recently valued at a whopping £15m.

Another Japanese starlet whose value soared under Postecoglou was Kyogo Furuhashi. He was brought in for a reported fee of £4.6m and was valued as high as £25m in the summer transfer window.

There was also Portuguese starlet Jota, who joined in a £6.5m deal from Benfica before being sold to Al-Ittihad for a whopping £25m in the summer of 2023.

Not every signing under Postecoglou was a roaring success for the Hoops, however, and left-back Alexandro Bernabei is one example of the manager blundering in the transfer market.

Postecoglou’s Bernabei blunder for Celtic

In the summer of 2022, the Australian boss swooped to sign the left-back from Lanus for a reported fee of £4m, and that has turned out to be a blunder on his and the club’s part.

Bernabei only started nine Premiership games in his debut season in Scotland, losing 60% of his duels, before a tally of just three starts in the first half of last term under Rodgers, losing 53% of his duels.

Former Hoops ace John Hartson labelled the Argentine flop a “disgrace” for not putting enough effort in to stop David Watson from scoring a stoppage-time equaliser for Kilmarnock earlier this year.

Less than a month on from that criticism, in February, the Bhoys and Rodgers made the decision to send him out on loan to Brazilian side

Internacional until the end of the year.

It was recently reported, by Football Insider, that Celtic are now likely to cash in on the defender in the January transfer window, as the manager is reluctant to bring him back into the fold, with sources telling Football Insider that he is ‘unlikely’ to ever play for the club again.

The outlet claimed that the Scottish giants will look to recoup as much of the £4m they spent on him as possible but it remains to be seen how much they will be able to bring in for his services, as he has been a flop for the Hoops and one that Postecoglou may look back on with regret.