Brendan Rodgers has revealed how he almost managed to tempt Atalanta star Ademola Lookman to Celtic Park during his first spell in charge.

The Nigerian winger caught Rodgers’ eye ten years ago when he was just a teenager making waves with Charlton Athletic in England.

With Celtic unable to meet the League One side’s asking price at the time, Lookman would sign for Everton in 2017 on an £11 million fee. He then switched to RB Leipzig on an initial loan before his move was made permanent.

It was during his tenure at Leicester City that Rodgers finally got his man, with the winger joining the Foxes on a season-long loan in 2021.

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Lookman made his move to Serie A in the summer of 2022 and etched himself into Atalanta folklore with his hattrick in last year’s Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen.

Rodgers and Lookman are now set to cross paths again tonight when Celtic will be hoping to keep the explosive forward quiet in their Champions League clash with Atalanta in Bergamo.

Asked how close he came to bringing the 27-year-old to Celtic Park, Rodgers 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 everything else the club could do. The player was keen in that moment. That's as close as it got.

“We’ve stayed in contact and he’s such a good guy, brilliant player. We wanted to sign him at Leicester at the time, with the chance to take him. But sadly, we couldn't sign any players that summer. Lee Congestion [the former Celtic recruitment chief now in Italy] then took him here to Atalanta. He's now a club legend.”

“He’s an absolutely brilliant young player,” he added. “We stayed in contact and when I was at Leicester, we wanted to bring in another winger and inquired about his availability when he was at Red Bull.

“And he came in and he was absolutely brilliant for me in that season, he was there, he scored some outstanding goals. I remember a great individual goal against Liverpool.

“I'm so proud of him and the career that he's had because he's a young guy who came out of London and wasn't scared to travel. Going to Germany at the time and obviously coming up to the northwest of England, to Everton.

“When he came to Leicester, you could see everything he was. He leads his life in the right way. Everything is geared towards being the best he can be. Watching him in that Europa League final, the goals he scored were not by accident.

“He practiced that every day of his life where he could. He would be out with a bag of balls, doing shooting exercises long after everyone else had gone in. Working on his right foot and left foot.

“He's so balanced. He can shoot up his right foot the same as his left foot. He's an absolutely incredible young professional. To see him score the hat-trick in the final last year was absolutely amazing.”