Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers wouldn't close himself off to the prospect of landing one of his former players from his first spell at Parkhead, according to one pundit.

Celtic transfer news…

Last weekend, the Hoops laboured to a disappointing 0-0 draw away to Hibernian at Easter Road in the Scottish Premiership, which enabled their arch-rivals Rangers to cut the gap at the top of the table from eight points to five points after they defeated Heart of Midlothian on Sunday.

Despite Rodgers bringing in nine signings during the summer, only Luis Palma and Paulo Bernardo featured against Hibernian in Edinburgh. Celtic outcast Mikey Johnston was preferred to new arrival South Korean winger Yang Hyun-jun from the substitutes bench in the closing stages of the affair despite Celtic shelling out around £2 million on the latter back in late July.

Marco Tilio and Kwon Hyeok-kyu are yet to play in a competitive fixture for Celtic, whereas Odin Thiago Holm and Gustaf Lagerbielke now seem to be on the periphery of Rodgers' plans after initially being utilised in the early portion of the campaign. Maik Nawrocki is still recovering from an injury problem and Nathaniel Phillips has been a rotational option since joining on loan from Liverpool.

Celtic have still made a strong start to life in the Scottish Premiership and are unbeaten in their first ten league matches. However, there is a growing consensus among some supporters that although the first-team squad is numerically strong, there is a noticeable drop-off between the predominant starting players and those who replace them from the bench.

In the summer, Rodgers commented on Celtic's transfer activity and expressed his desire to bring more quality into his squad. As per Sky Sports, the Northern Irishman stated when asked if he was content with the business they had conducted: "I think every manager will tell you they maybe wished they could have done one or two more signings."

Celtic's summer signings

Player

Previous club

Fee

Yang Hyun-jun

Gangwon FC

£2 million

Maik Nawrocki

Legia Warsaw

£4.3 million

Paulo Bernardo

Benfica

Loan

Luis Palma

Aris Thessaloniki

£3.5 million

Gustaf Lagerbielke

Elfsborg

£3 million

Nathaniel Phillips

Liverpool

Loan

Kwon Hyeok-kyu

Busan IPark

£1 million

Marco Tilio

Melbourne City

£1.5 million

Odin Thiago Holm

Valerenga

Undisclosed

Tomoki Iwata (obligation to buy activated)

Yokohama F. Marinos

Undisclosed

Ryan Christie to Celtic verdict

Earlier this month, TEAMtalk reported that Celtic were interested in bringing Ryan Christie back to Parkhead in light of his contractual situation at Bournemouth, which could see him leave the Vitality Stadium on a free transfer in 2024 when his deal is set to expire.

Celtic boss Rodgers is believed to be a huge fan of the player and previously worked with Christie during his first spell at Parkhead, where the Scotland international notched 41 goals and 44 assists in 151 appearances (Christie statistics – Transfermarkt).

Now, former Scotland international Alan Hutton has suggested that Rodgers wouldn't close the door on a potential reunion with Christie, who has previously been labelled "incredible" by former boss Gary O'Neil, at Celtic. Speaking to Football Insider, the pundit said:

"I do not think Brendan Rodgers would close the door to any player that he thinks can make his starting XI better. If there is something to be done there then there is always a possibility. Is coming back always a good thing? I am not so sure.

"I think when you are in the Premier League and doing well, playing games, I think there will be other options as well. Celtic are a huge club going for trophies, playing in European competitions so there is always a draw there."