Former Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers close to agreement to become Al Qadsiah boss | OneFootball

Former Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers is set to become the manager of Saudi Pro League side Al Qadsiah, according to The Athletic.

Rodgers has been out of work since resigning as Celtic manager in October and the Hoops have replaced him with Wilfried Nancy at the Parkhead club.

The Northern Irishman has jetted out to Saudi to finalise the deal, and it could become official before the end of this week.

Celtic initially appointed Martin O’Neill on an interim basis after Rodgers’ exit, but they brought in Nancy earlier this month and he has struggled.

The Bhoys lost 3-1 to St Mirren in the Scottish League Cup final yesterday and some fans would have wished Rodgers had waited until the end of the season before leaving.

He won four Scottish Premiership titles, three Scottish Cups and four Scottish League Cups with Celtic, and his achievements with the Hoops played a key role when Al Qadsiah opted for him ahead of others.

The billionaire-owned club also love his style of play and philosophy, and Rodgers will be desperate to hit the ground running in the Middle East.

Al Qadsiah are owned by Aramco, the majority state-owned national oil company of Saudi Arabia.

They are scheduled to move into a new stadium next season and have been keen to make an appointment before the winter transfer window.

Rodgers will be taking over from Michel Gonzalez, who was dismissed following a run of disappointing results.

His win rate of 75.5 per cent is the highest of any manager in the history of Celtic, and he will look to prove himself in Saudi after several years of managerial experience.

Al Qadsiah are currently fifth in the Saudi Pro League table after nine games, ten points behind leaders Al Nassr, and Rodgers will look to end his debut campaign with silverware.