Brendan Rodgers, the Celtic manager, has confirmed that two out of the three players he had targeted for the Parkhead side have moved elsewhere this summer but he remains insistent that the club can still bring in “three or four” quality players before the window closes next Friday.

And it is believed that the Parkhead side could test Aberdeen's resolve with a second bid this week for defender Scott McKenna. The Pittodrie side were swift with a rejection of Celtic's £3.5m offer last week but a higher bid nudging towards Aberdeen's £6m valuation could entice the club into a sale.

The two whom Rodgers identified are believed to have been midfielder John McGinn who went to Aston Villa while Cristiano Piccini, a right-back who moved from Sporting Lisbon to Valencia in a deal worth €7m, was also looked at.

“Well, the targets I wanted are gone,” said the Celtic manager. “Two of the three. The third one being Odsonne [Edouard]. He was one we wanted to make. But the two other ones are gone. So it’s now looking at the necessary quality to come in and help the group.

“We still have work to do in the transfer market to give the group some strength and depth.”

From Celtic’s pre-season base in Austria almost eight weeks ago Rodgers spoke of his wish to replace Patrick Roberts, Stuart Armstrong and bring in additional quality. Only Edouard, 19-year-old Australian Daniel Arzani and Emilio Izaguirre have been added to the squad. Asked if he still need three of four players, the Celtic manager said:

“Absolutely. There’s no change. I’ve been pretty clear, since the end of last season, what we need.

“So this year wasn’t a huge overhaul. It was about simplicity in one thing, which is quality. There is a lot of talk around all the transfers. But it’s always been very clear what we needed.

“You need to replace what you lose in order to keep that strength – and that competition. I think what people may or may not know is, when you are working day to day and challenging the squad all the time, it’s about competition.

“It’s no coincidence that James Forrest was very good with Patrick Roberts breathing down his neck. And vice-versa. The midfield players knew, if they weren’t quite doing it, they had someone who could come in, come on and do well. So, if you are just off your game a bit as an attacker, you have Stuart Armstrong to come on or Tom Rogic to come on. Or you change the balance.”

Celtic broke their own transfer record this summer with the £9m acquisition of French striker Edouard. Rodgers confirmed that his other targets now are not in the same financial bracket, although he was coy when asked if he was optimistic of ending the window with re-inforcements.

“Let’s wait and see,” was all he would say when pressed on the matter.

Rodgers has not been shy these past few weeks at making his feelings known about the way in which the current transfer window has unfolded. There has been an obvious discord between the boardroom and the expectations of the manager, although he revealed this week that he expects to play a part in the sourcing of additional players.

“I will be heavily involved [this week],” he said. “Any recruitment is always about identification of the player. Then you try to bring it together with wages and transfer fees before completion.

“I will obviously be involved on the periphery of it in terms of the player and his suitability. But it’s a collective thing, the way we work here. Let’s hope we can do something.”

The failure of Celtic to reach the group stages of the UEFA Champions League for the first time under his stewardship is not something that Rodgers expects to be remedied financially with the sale of one of the club’s assets. Nor does he believes that not having the carrot of the group stages is prohibitive to selling the club to prospective players.

“The club don’t need to sell,” he said. “We’ve been in a very good position, financially, over the past couple of years and that probably eases the pressure of having to do that. I don’t think it changes so much but, if you had a few years without the Champions League, then of course that is maybe something the club would have to look at.

“But the club is in a good financial position. So that wasn’t going to be necessary this year.

“Celtic is a wonderful club to play at, to develop.

“The type of player who will come here will be probably a developing player – or a player at the other end of his career who still wants the big pressure, the big game atmosphere. There’s nowhere better than here for that feeling. But, yeah, there is still talent we can hopefully bring in.”