Rodgers had his next Sterling & Coutinho at Celtic, then he left goalless
They say never go back, but Brendan Rodgers has eased any concerns amid what has been another dominant spell in charge at Celtic, having claimed the domestic double in 2023/24.
That first campaign back at Parkhead wasn’t perfect for the Northern Irishman, with the Hoops crashing out of the League Cup to Kilmarnock, although triumphs in the Premiership and the Scottish Cup ensured that the club’s Old Firm superiority continued, following the days of Ange Postecoglou.
Excluding his time south of the border – where he claimed the FA Cup and Community Shield at Leicester City – the experienced coach has now chalked up nine domestic trophies in Glasgow, with the early signs this season suggesting that haul could well be bolstered, amid a seven-game winning running in the league.
Excitement will also be brewing among the fanbase at the promising youngsters who are part of the current crop at Celtic Park – namely 21-year-old Arne Engels and 22-year-old Paulo Bernardo – with Rodgers, for the most part, having proven himself to be particularly adept at nurturing young talent.
Brendan Rodgers' development of young talent
In truth, the former Liverpool boss has never been afraid to throw youngsters in at the deep end, with his first stint in Scotland notably seeing him snap up a 19-year-old Moussa Dembele for a compensation fee of only £500k. The Frenchman would later be sold for £20m.
Equally, Rodgers was also pivotal in the development of academy sensation, Kieran Tierney, with the homegrown full-back making 127 appearances under the one-time Swansea City coach, after previously making his debut under Ronny Deila.
Like with the example of Dembele, Tierney would later go on to secure the Bhoys a handsome profit amid his £25m switch to Arsenal in 2019, having credited Rodgers for helping him “become a much better player and professional”.
That knack for nurturing rising stars was also the case during Rodgers’ stint at Anfield, having handed a regular role to a 17-year-old Raheem Sterling, while also prising Philippe Coutinho from Inter Milan at the age of 20 – two players who would later rake in £49m and £142m, respectively, for the Merseysiders.
For all those success stories, there were, however, the odd occasion were the Carnlough native made a mistake in the market, having been proven wrong after snapping up what he believed to be his next Sterling or Coutinho while at Celtic.
Rodgers' next Sterling & Coutinho at Celtic
Amid his first season at the helm back in 2016, Rodgers did notably acquire the likes of Dembele – alongside other significant names such as Scott Sinclair – although there was particular excitement regarding the addition of another up and comer midway through the campaign.
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That man was Ivorian starlet, Kouassi Eboue, with the promising midfielder arriving from Krasnador in January 2017 for a reported fee of around £3m.
Described as a ‘Champions League signing’ by BBC Sport’s Tom English at the time – who pointed out Rodgers’ success with the likes of Coutinho and Dembele etc – Kouassi was also lauded by his new manager:
“He is one of those young players I look at with the same feeling I had as when I saw a young Coutinho or a young Sterling. Within 10 seconds you see his talent.
‘He is one, obviously, the scouting team have been aware of. Most coaches see something in a player that suits their way of working. But there are certain attributes in a young player you can see and you get a good feeling. This boy has that.”
High praise indeed for a player who had made just 19 senior appearances during his time in Russia prior to that, although it’s fair to say he never lived up to those lofty expectations.
Kouassi Eboue's time at Celtic
From the get go it looked like it could be a tricky time in Scottish football for the then 19-year-old, with the teenager enduring a shaky first start against Partick Thistle in April 2017.
Speaking after that full league debut, Rodgers even joked that “after the first five minutes I thought we had signed his brother”, albeit while going on to admit that Eboue had “grew into the game” before being replaced on the hour mark.
The defensive midfielder ultimately ended that first six months at the club with just five appearances to his name, before going on to make just 12 outings in all competitions in the following season. His 2018/19 campaign was also cruelly cut short due to an ACL injury.
Despite struggling to oust skipper Scott Brown in the centre of the park – alongside those injury woes – Rodgers believed that his rough diamond would “certainly fulfil that role” when Brown eventually moved on. In the end, it was Eboue who departed first.
After racking up just 22 appearances in total in three years – a record that yielded no goals and only a solitary assist – the 6 foot 1 asset was then shipped on loan to Belgian side Genk in January 2020, prior to eventually joining the club permanently later that summer.
Club
Games
Goals
Assists
Arouca
53
4
0
Genk
22
0
0
Celtic
22
0
1
Krasnador
19
1
2
Krasnador II
5
0
1
Jong Genk
2
0
0
Total
123
5
4
Now 26, the former Celtic man is on the books at Portuguese outfit Arouca – whom he joined in 2023 – with his transfer value deemed to be around just £900k, as per Transfermarkt.
Perhaps he was merely doomed to fail from the start amid such notable comparisons to the likes of Sterling and Coutinho, although it’s fair to say that Eboue does not fall into the category of transfer success stories that Rodgers has enjoyed during his two stints at Parkhead.
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