How close Ademola Lookman was to Celtic move before Atalanta superstardom as London summit revealed

He's the man Celtic simply can’t afford to lose track off in Italy.

But Ademola Lookman will always be the one that got away for Brendan Rodgers. The Hoops boss almost managed to tempt the Atalanta hero to Parkhead during his first spell in charge, when the Nigerian winger was just a kid running riot with Charlton in England. Celtic couldn’t quite come up with the dosh but Rodgers did finally land his man when he was in charge of Leicester City and he landed the flying machine on loan from RB Leipzig.

Lookman would eventually end up in Serie A where he achieved legendary status with his hat trick in last season’s famous Europa League win. Rodgers doesn’t need to be told where the danger will come from on Wednesday when the sides clash in the Champions League. And this time he really can’t afford to allow the attacker to get away.

He said: “How close was he to signing? Close in the fact that he was really excited by the project of Celtic. I met him in a hotel in London and we were looking to convince him to come. Sadly, we just couldn't get to the levels that Charlton wanted for him.

“But the club did everything they possibly could at that time. He was at Charlton at the time, he wanted to join a big club. He didn't feel those pressures and everything of why a player would want to come to Celtic.

“Charlton clearly were wanting to get as much as they possibly could for him. We spoke to him, from a personal perspective. It was a move that should have helped him and his representatives. He was very clear on that.

“But obviously it was a financial sum in the end. I think he went from maybe £11 million or something to Everton. It just drifted away from us. Financially it was a challenge on the fee. But wages and