“The club was very supportive,” says Rodgers, explaining why Celtic turned down a £10 million summer offer.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has explained why the club rejected a late offer for Matt O’Riley this summer.

Hoops attacker O’Riley was the subject of a £10m bid from Leeds United in the closing days of the window. The Celtic stance was that the midfielder simply wasn’t for sale.

That has already proven to be a good decision with the Denmark youth international arguably our best performer over the past month.

Rodgers has been speaking about the last-gasp bid for O’Riley, and why he felt Celtic couldn’t lose the former MK Dons man.

“It was an open conversation,” Rodgers told the Scottish Sun. “That’s what I’ve always had here with Michael Nicholson and the guys.

“I didn’t think we could afford to lose another starter and the club were very supportive on that. They were great. We had obviously lost Carl Starfelt and lost Jota, and we knew Cameron Carter-Vickers was going to be out for a while.

“I didn’t think we could afford to lose another one.” Of course, all of this is dependent on the player. If the player truly wants to move, I believe that if he does not want to be here, he should not be here.

“I’ve seen situations when you think you can keep them for another year. But if they truly want to depart, they are not the same player.

“I never got that impression from Matt. He is devoting his time to growth.

“He had the option of leaving here. With all due respect, he could have made a lot more money by leaving. But that’s not all he’s got.”

Rodgers is correct when he says that we couldn’t afford to lose another first-team member during the summer. Jota and Starfelt are the obvious candidates, but you could also include Aaron Mooy’s name after the Australian unexpectedly departed from football.

Last season, those three guys were crucial to our success, as was O’Riley. Losing him, Hatate, or Abada on top of the injury crisis would have put us in a difficult situation.

O’Riley is a bright young man who is supported by a loving family. Right now, staying at Celtic is the best option for him. If he maintains his current form, he will receive more appealing offers than Leeds United in the future.