Brendan Rodgers: Rangers boss Steven Gerrard says lure of Leicester and Premier League hard to resist

Celtic have ‘very reluctantly’ given Rodgers permission to speak to Leicester

Steven Gerrard says he is not surprised Celtic manager Brendan Rogers has found a potential return to the Premier League too hard to resist.

Rodgers is the frontrunner to replace Claude Puel, who was sacked by Leicester on Sunday.

Celtic have “very reluctantly” allowed Rodgers to begin talks with the Foxes and that it is an opportunity “he wishes to investigate further”.

Rangers boss Gerrard said Rodgers has done an exceptional job at Celtic and it was of little shock that top English sides were interested in securing his services.

“I’ve just been made aware that he’s in talks with Leicester. For us, we just see how that pans out really,” Gerrard said.

“It seems [the lure of Premier League has been a big factor] otherwise he’d have declined the opportunity to talk to Leicester.

“My focus right now is Rangers and we’ve got a big fixture tomorrow against Dundee. That’s my main concern right now but we’ll keep an eye on how it pans out across the road.

“I’m not really surprised by the timing because these things happen. Brendan has done ever so well at Celtic over the years so it’s no surprise that other clubs are watching him and wanting to acquire his services.

Claude Puel was sacked by Leicester on Sunday (Getty)

“He’s done a really good job and I’ve worked with Brendan so I know he’s a very good coach.”

Puel was sacked after Leicester suffered an embarrassing 4-1 defeat at the King Power to Crystal Palace on Sunday and are still yet to win since the turn of the year.

Rodgers would be the club’s third permanent manager since sacking Claudio Ranieri in February 2017.