Brendan Rodgers has joked that he told a Celtic physio to stick tight to striker Moussa Dembele "like Franco Baresi" at a west London hospital on transfer deadline day as speculation intensified about a possible January move to Chelsea.
Dembele was spotted getting off a plane from Glasgow to London on Tuesday amid reports that Chelsea had made an enquiry to sign him, though sources at Celtic told ESPN FC that the purpose of the visit was to undergo specialist assessment on a knee injury rather than to hold transfer talks.
The 20-year-old returned to Scotland immediately after the appointment and Chelsea head coach Antonio Conte subsequently dismissed the reports of a possible move for Dembele as "just speculation," but Rodgers says he told physio Tim Williamson to keep track of his striker just in case.
"We had to make sure the physio didn't lose sight of him down there," Rodgers joked. "Ironically the hospital he was in was in Chelsea, believe it or not. So I said to Tim [Williamson], be like Franco Baresi and just stay tight to him.
"But he was happy to come back. He is loving it here. He got some fluid out of his knee, he has had a good reaction to it, so we will see how he is for the weekend."
Dembele has scored 20 goals in 38 appearances since arriving at Celtic from Fulham for £500,000 last summer, and several reports on Thursday claim Chelsea will resume their interest in the striker this summer after being told that Celtic would not consider offers below £40 million on deadline day.
Another Celtic player heavily linked with a move to Stamford Bridge in the final days of the January window was goalkeeper Craig Gordon. Chelsea had two bids turned down for the 34-year-old, who was identified as a possible replacement for Asmir Begovic if the Bosnian was granted a move to Bournemouth.
Begovic stayed at Chelsea after Celtic held firm on Gordon and Rodgers says he wants the club to agree an extension to his No.1 goalkeeper's current contract, which is set to expire in the summer.
"It was difficult for Craig because I don't think he is built for the stress," Rodgers said of Gordon. "He is a big guy who is calm and laid back and it probably got on his nerves. But I have reassured him that he is an absolutely massive part of what I'm doing here.
"You see the level of his game, his composure, his quality, everything. And I'm very hopeful that soon we will tie him down for longer here because he is a huge player in relation to how I want my team to operate. That will be our best signing once that gets done."