Ruthless Rodgers talks straight and true. Others at Celtic need to step up.

Oh man, oh man—how good it is to get the football back again.

This has been the summer of the Club World Cup… football, but not as we know it. There may have been more bizarre competitions in our lifetime, but few of us could tell you what the name of it is. The return of Celtic games is therefore something to be celebrated—like Christmas come early.

Last night, the team played its first pre-season game.

Paulina is going to do a piece on that later, but for now let’s just say it wasn’t a thriller. It was a run-out, a fitness exercise for some of the squad, and a chance to see a few of the younger players. It was good to see Johnny Kenny on the scoresheet.

I wrote about him last week, wondering whether he might get opportunities this season—especially after we turned down a £300,000 bid, having reportedly valued him at a million. And if someone meets that valuation, he’ll be off.

Brendan didn’t talk much about Kenny last night – he said he’s still to make a decision on him – but he did speak about other things.

I found his comments not only interesting but refreshingly honest. He’s going to have a look at Osmand from Fulham and decide, based on what he sees, what the best move for the player is. But the Inamura question? That’s now been answered.

Not in a way many of folks will like.

We can now say with some certainty that Inamura is not a Brendan Rodgers signing. Talk of sending him out on loan? At 23 years old? What’s the point?

Why sign him in the first place? He’s nowhere near ready for the first team. A loan at that age—an age where we’ve sold players in the past—only proves what many of us have been saying from the outset. The club continues to give the manager players he didn’t ask for, doesn’t want, and won’t use.

Whoever’s fantasy it is to bring these guys in, they can’t force the manager to adopt their vision. They can’t compel him to give chances to players he sees no use for. Every single concern—mine and others’—about this deal has now been vindicated. He’s not Brendan’s player, and the manager has zero interest. His focus lies entirely in improving this squad, this team, and not wasting time on somebody else’s pet project.

Mark my words: Inamura will never play a first-team game for Celtic. The money we spent on him might as well have been pissed up against the wall.

He’s not ready for the SPFL—physically, mentally, or experientially. He’s 23 and nowhere near the level. It’s a signing that makes no sense. And no one has explained why it was made, or where it fits into any coherent plan.

That’s because it doesn’t fit. It’s just someone’s bright idea. Someone who shouldn’t be anywhere near building a football team, especially not when it’s our club’s money they’re throwing away.

What is now clear is that we remain in the market for a centre-back. We have to be, and it’s not the only position.

And that’s where Brendan’s comments on Kühn were especially telling—because he’s made it absolutely crystal clear that he’s the one calling the shots on that front. His words cut through the white noise. The player doesn’t want to be here, and Brendan doesn’t want him here either. It’s that simple.

If those comments seemed brutal, it’s because the situation calls for it. Rodgers was clearly frustrated with Kühn last season. You could see it in the way he was getting hooked at half-time. Brendan doesn’t publicly slate players often, but he has standards—and a few people in the squad clearly fell short.

Kühn appears to have been the main one.

Brendan will tolerate a lot. But not pettiness. Not unprofessionalism.

And now that the sale is going through, he expects to be able to spend. He’s said so. And that’s the best news of this window so far.

Because we’ve brought in good money—not just from the Kühn deal, but from a number of other transfer moves: the sales of two defenders, the potential departure of Luis Palma, and the sell-on cash we’ve already pocketed from Jeremie Frimpong, with maybe more to come from Matt O’Riley.

So yes, the transfer pot is healthy.

And Brendan expects to be able to spend it. Top of the list? A direct replacement for Kühn. He knows that. And I expect he’s well down the road in sorting it. The club now has no excuse for not backing him with a sizeable budget.

There’s a lot of work to do. Most Celtic fans aren’t obsessed with net spend—but it would be nice if, just once, we actually spent what we bring in, instead of handing the manager a few crumbs from a very full table.

I’ll be honest: when Brendan talked about Inamura last night as a “signing for the future”, it didn’t sound to me like he expects to be part of that future. The longer this drags on without a new deal, the more many of us will start to believe the decision’s already been made. I still think he’ll surprise us with a contract extension—but only because everyone must know this cannot be allowed to rumble into the season and dominate every discussion when we don’t hit top form.

But all that said—the football is back. And I am glad for it.

We’re all glad for it.

No more watching that phoney, baloney US-based nonsense. Now we’re into the real stuff. Celtic in pre-season. Watching how the manager’s new tactics are shaping up. Hoping to see a couple of new faces get some minutes.

The campaign kicks off in four weeks.

We’re not ready. We should have had some good players brought in for pre-season already—not just Tierney and Nygren. But this is Celtic. With any luck, some real business will be concluded in time for a few new signings to be bedded in before those crucial Champions League qualifiers.

But with this club? You just never know.

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