James Browning 
Mike Hewitt/Getty Images Sport
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has confirmed that he tried to sign Nigerian international Henry Onyekuru from Eupen this summer, before the winger moved to Everton.
Speaking to The Scotsman ahead of his side’s Champions League game against Belgian side RSC Anderlecht, Rodgers said:
Onyekuru was a player who came to our attention and we watched him. But at the time the money was going to be too much, really. We’d seen him play. In Belgium you’re always trying to gauge it because the league splits and a lot of his goals were scored in the lower half of that.
However, he admitted:
We were never really close to signing him
Onyekuru is currently on loan at Anderlecht from Everton, who signed him for £7 million at the end of June. He currently has four goals in nine games for Celtic’s midweek opponents.
Rodgers continued:
I liked him and when I saw him as a 19 year old his numbers were high for a winger in respect of the league he was playing in. He’s very dynamic, very quick. But we never made a bid, he was just a player who came into our thinking because of his goals. But he was one clearly looking to go elsewhere
The young Nigerian scored 30 goals in 60 appearances for Eupen, playing domestic football in Belgium, but the Everton loanee now has a chance to shine on the big stage and he’ll certainly be a threat to the Celtic back line.
Celtic face Anderlecht at the Constant Vanden Stock Stadium at 19:45 on Wednesday night, looking to pick up their first European points of the season following their loss to PSG in the first round of group stage fixtures.
