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Unlike Other Managers, Brendan Is Watching The World Cup With An Eye On Signings.

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Steven Gerrard – he of a “stronger, fitter, faster” Sevco – is spending some of his time during this World Cup trying to sell beer. I’d have thought if wanted to do that right it would have been better to simply show videos of his current club’s hapless performances from last season. I am fairly certain those sold truckloads of it here in Scotland.

But he doesn’t have the budget at his disposal to even consider making actual signings at the tournament. His interest is a mixture of business and pleasure; you’ll see a lot of that from Gerrard in the next 12 months, as he puts his own personal brand first, jetting around advertising various products and popping up on the telly. Anywhere but actually working at Ibrox, where I believe he’ll be a peripheral figure more days than not.

We’ll see if I’m right.

Brendan Rodgers is spending this World Cup working.

For Celtic. But when he does have some down-time and he’s focussing on the games, he’s still doing the job for which he is handsomely paid. Because he does have the budget for World Cup players, albeit that nobody believes we’ll be at the extreme end of the market.

But for all that, there are bargains to be had. There are players out there, even now, who would represent good business and one of them is the Swiss central defender Fabien Schar. Is the interest real or is it just press mumbo-jumbo? I suspect it’s real enough.

Celtic know that one of the places to find bargains is in the relegation zone, and whilst it might seem counter-intuitive to go and buy a defender from a team that dropped a division, everyone knows there are mitigating factors, and a number of variables, that put a team in that kind of trouble.

Schar is available for £3.5 million. He is experienced. Although just 26 he has 40 international caps. Aside from playing in Spain he’s played in his native country, and for German club Hoffenheim. He’s got credibility as far as signings go, and other clubs are sniffing.

He won’t be only player we have our eyes on, he’s just the first one the press has found out about. This tournament, like all major finals, are rich pickings for the clubs who can afford it. We may not be at the top of the food chain, but we’re on it.

No other Scottish side can say the same.

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