Ezri Konsa made his debut at the beginning of the season, and already the 19 year old Charlton defender is attracting interest from the biggest names in the country.
The youngster joined Charlton at under 11 level, and has progressed through the ranks, finally making his debut in the English Football league. But such was his performance, he was soon drafted into the first team for League matches.
Although he is a central defender by trade, Charlton have already deployed the youngster in a number of other positions including fullback and central midfield. It is a testament to his ability on the ball that they have played him in these positions, and it shows that he has the ability to make it to the very top, as usually the best central defenders are capable on the ball. And this is something that will appeal to Rodgers as he loves his defenders to be comfortable in possession. Reports have claimed that Celtic made a personal scouting mission to watch the teen defender last Saturday.
One of the most impressive features of Konsa’s play is that he has not physically looked out of place in what is a notoriously physically tough league.
Charlton sold defender Joe Gomez to Liverpool for £3.5million and Konsa is seen by the Charlton hierarchy as a similar prospect so would demand a similar fee for the youngster.
Celtic boss is reported to be paying particularly close attention, as he is looking to add more talented youngsters to his Celtic squad after successful raids on the Football League, having signed Moussa Dembele who has been a huge success.
Rodgers recently checked in on Konsa in Charlton’s 3-0 League One clash with Swindon on Saturday, but unfortunately the youngster failed to make it off the bench.
But he will be keen to show his interest as a whole host of Premier League clubs are rumoured to be monitoring the youngster such as Manchester City, Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool.
It is unlikely that this is a player that Rodgers would look to throw straight into first team action however, with Simunovic and Sviatchenko as his first choice, and Kolo Toure as their back-up, Rodgers is quite content with his central defensive options in the short term. So this would definitely be a signing for the future that Rodgers can nurture.
There is obviously a clear shift in policy at Celtic, with Rodgers seeing the best way of taking the club up a level to sign talented youngsters and developing them. And in Ezri Konsa, it seems they are targeting a player that is destined for big things.