Erik Sviatchenko, the 26-year-old Celtic defender, spent a loan spell at his former club FC Midtjylland since January and has now completed a permanent deal with them. Before joining the Scottish giants, he had already spent seven years with the Danish club and he was again sent on loan to his homeland where he helped his team secure the domestic league. He was signed by Celtic for a fee of £1.5m and made 63 appearances for them in total.
The Hoops have the likes of Kristoffer Ajer, Jack Hendry, Marvin Compper and Dedryck Boyata, which kept game time limited for the Danish international and after a good loan spell, Rodgers had no hesitation in selling him. The defender was earning £12,000 per week as salary at the Parkhead.
It might very well happen that Rodgers may not go for a centre-back as he already has a good amount of options and the current crop of players have done well as they just conceded 25 goals in their entire campaign.
But it might also happen that Rodgers might bring in a defender to increase competition for places and that will keep the regular defenders on top of their game. In a situation like that, we look at three replacements the former Liverpool manager can go after.
Curtis Good
The Newcastle United defender might not have played much in his time with the club due to injuries but the Australian was touted to have a big future. Currently, it seems that he has left his injury issues behind him and will be looking for a club in the summer to resurrect his career again.
The 25-year-old has all the natural talent which a defender needs to succeed and he will be available for free as his contract is set to come to an end.
Miguel Britos
The experienced former Napoli defender was signed by Watford but his time with them has been plagued by injuries and emergence of certain young defenders. The 32-year-old still has the pedigree to play at the top level and he too will be available for free as his contract is expiring in the summer. This can turn out to be a smart signing for Rodgers if he goes after him.
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Jake Cooper
The defender showed great composure in Millwall’s push toward the playoff spot and played an instrumental role for them in this campaign. He is just 23 and has a big future ahead of him and will certainly be a good long-term option for Brendan Rodgers.
