Yes, this might be the summer Celtic loses Carter Vickers. We must be prepared.

Today we got a report that, while unwelcome, was entirely expected.

A lot of people have been kidding themselves for a while now that we’d somehow get through this window without any serious transfer interest in Cameron Carter-Vickers. That was always highly unlikely. He’s been one of the absolute rocks of this team for the last four years, and if there was going to be interest from down south in any of our players, he was always top of the list.

I don’t know if Carter-Vickers will leave the club in this window. I won’t be shocked if he does. In fact, I can’t imagine anything happening in this window that would genuinely surprise me. The manager has already hinted at the loss of at least one key player—he’s basically telegraphed it—and has said it’ll likely be someone who’s been at the club for several years. That narrows the field considerably. It’s basically down to three: Maeda, Hatate, and Carter-Vickers.

Rodgers has made his move.

He’s trying to get key players signed up to extended contracts. It’s obvious he thinks Maeda and Hatate can be persuaded to stay. There’s been no mention of a new deal for Carter-Vickers. That’s telling. He seems happy here, settled even, but after four years and at the age of 27, he’ll be very aware that this is maybe his big chance to secure a major move and a significant pay rise.

Would it be disappointing to lose the big guy? Of course it would.

He’s one of those players you look at and genuinely wonder how you replace him without spending a fortune. But if he wants to go and there’s nothing we can do to convince him otherwise, then that’s that.

You don’t want a player who’s unhappy. You don’t want a guy feeling like he’s been denied a big opportunity. As much as I don’t want to see it happen—any more than I’d want to see Maeda or Hatate leave—the manager has put up so many red flags about this that nobody should be shocked.

Frankly, it would be more surprising if there was no interest in him.

The one real positive here is that the manager has flagged this possibility so often that there has to be a plan. If Carter-Vickers is one of the guys considering a move, and if there are clubs willing to meet our valuation, then the club will have known about it for a while. I think we needed to sign a centre-half in this window anyway, and if we now need two, well, we’ll just have to get on with it. The sale of Carter-Vickers would give us the funds to bring in two top-quality defenders.

Nobody wants to see it happen, but we’ve got to be ready for every eventuality. This is going to be a summer of transition, and the manager has made that crystal clear. He’s said it in several different ways at several different times. He clearly understands the internal dynamics, and who is open to a move.

Look at Kyogo—Rodgers said that move had been in the offing since the season before. If Carter-Vickers is in the same place, it’ll be no different.

What matters most is that we’ve done the homework. That we’ve identified his likely replacement, and that we’re already moving to make it happen.

It has to happen before the sale. We’ve already blundered into that minefield, and to do it again would be inexcusable.

There will be turnover in every squad.

Players come, players go. The manager has said himself that he sees this summer as a rebuilding one, and that’s what has to happen in a third season. Things need to stay fresh. I hope it also comes with a tactical tweak or two, but that’ll become clearer over time. What is clear is that we’re going to lose at least one key player. And that’s not speculation—that’s Rodgers himself spelling it out.

It might not be Carter-Vickers. If the big man wants to stay, we’re not going to shove him out the door. He’s absolutely vital to this side. But someone will go. I’ve resigned myself to that fact, and I’ve been resigned to it for weeks—maybe even months. But if it happens under the right circumstances, for the right money, and if the manager gets to reinvest that properly into the squad, then we need to support it—whoever it is.

I don’t trust the people above Rodgers, but I do trust Rodgers and I trust the guys working with him. He won’t let this team be weakened without a fix already in the works. He’s not going to allow yet another top player to walk without a plan in place to bring in a replacement. We must have learned something from the disaster of January. That cannot be allowed to happen again.