Celtic poised to re-sign Patrick Roberts on loan after Manchester City starlet snubs interest from Nice, Southampton and Huddersfield in favour of return to Parkhead

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Patrick Roberts is poised to return to Celtic on a one-year loan after a breakthrough in talks with Manchester City.

While an agreement has yet to be finalised, it is expected the remaining details will be ironed out ahead of a deal being confirmed next week.

That will represent a sizeable boost for Parkhead manager Brendan Rodgers, who had made an extension of his working relationship with Roberts a summer priority.

Manchester City winger Patrick Roberts is set to join Celtic on loan for a third season in a row

He spent pre-season training with City and was chased by Southampton and Huddersfield

Asked on Friday about any movement on the long-running pursuit of the 20-year-old, Rodgers said: ‘There is, but it’s always private. We’ll see. You don’t have long to go in the window.’

A fresh loan for Roberts is now in the pipeline, however, after City agreed that he could go back to Glasgow. Celtic will pay a significant loan fee for the switch.

The English powerhouse had been reluctant to sanction another season in Scottish football, preferring to send the £12million-rated winger to a rival English club or one in Europe.

Roberts, though, made it clear he had his heart set on returning to Celtic after helping them complete an unbeaten Treble last season.

Southampton, Huddersfield and Nice were among the clubs rebuffed as the player dug in his heels.

There was further good news for the Parkhead club this week with confirmation that Stuart Armstrong had signed a new two-year contract.

Some questions have been raised about length of the deal, which only extends his previous agreement by 12 months, but Rodgers insisted he was happy with the outcome of long-running talks. 

But Roberts has had his heart set on a return to Celtic, for whom he scored 11 goals last term

‘It is a win-win,’ he said. ‘In every negotiation, whether it is one year, five years or whatever, every party has to be happy.

‘This is one where he has extended his time here. It is two years and everyone is happy. I signed a one-year (contract) when I came in. The club was happy and I was happy, that is where it is at.’

Asked about any ambitions the Scotland midfielder might have to one day play in England, Rodgers added: ‘Every player wants to play and perform at the highest possible level.

‘I can understand why people would want to go to the most competitive league in the world.

‘It is always about timing and I felt with Stuart this wasn’t the time. When that is going to be is undecided, if it ever does happen. While he is here he is at a huge club and he has everything that goes with being a Celtic player.

‘I’m glad for him, glad for the club that it’s resolved. He’s now coming into a couple of years here where he continues his development and hopefully helps the club win more trophies.’

Roberts, 20, was part of the Celtic team who went unbeaten in the 2017 Scottish Premiership

Armstrong’s first task will be to try to win back a regular place in the team, with £4.5m midfield addition Olivier Ntcham impressing in Wednesday night’ s 5-0 rout of Astana.

‘At 21 years of age, he is fantastic,’ Rodgers enthused about the Frenchman. ‘He wanted to come and play and to develop.

‘He needs to play in a certain way and he is a real player. You see his physicality. If he turned up playing for Barcelona or Bayern Munich you would say what a good player he is. He is in a Celtic shirt and he will develop here into a top-class player.’

Meanwhile, fringe striker Nadir Ciftci is set to join Plymouth Argyle on a season-long loan.