This summer Brendan Rodgers has discovered that it is not building a winning team at Celtic that is difficult but trying to then maintain and strengthen it.

It is not a new phenomena.

Given the disparity of finances in football, Celtic’s business model is such that luring young and developing talent comes at a cost that is not entirely monetary. As a potential Moussa Dembele exit will underline, it is the hole it leaves behind which becomes a headache as the spine of a team starts to unravel.

It is not just the fact that Dembele heading to Lyon at this stage of the season would leave Celtic scrambling for another striker but rather the very fact that the French under-21 internationalist has been one of the talismanic figures of Rodgers’ Celtic and the way in which they play.

But like Virgil van Dijk and Victor Wanyama and Fraser Forster before him, the two-year point tends to be where the line in the sand is when it comes to moving to a bigger league.

“I think it’s understanding where Celtic is at,” said Rodgers.

“There’s no secret. It’s very difficult to build something here because every two years there is going to be recycle. That’s the way it is.

“Of course, you’d love to be able to say we want to keep some of these players for five, six, seven years, but it’s not the reality, especially now when players can get offered three or four times the money they are on here.

“It’s a really short career.

“We don’t want to lose Moussa. We make that known as well. He’s not one we want to lose, but it’s something that has come up and he and his representatives have asked to explore that. Which is natural.”

Brighton made a move for Dembele in January which was rebuffed by Celtic but the striker was sold on a move to the Parkhead side initially by the promise of the fact that it could be a stepping stone elsewhere.

In that regard, there is a moral obligation now for Celtic not to stand in his way as an option of heading back to his homeland arises.

The player himself has been known to be keen on playing in France again with the possibility of pushing his way into the senior French side. Lyon can also offer Champions League football in addition to an attractive salary while also paying Celtic substantially for a player that cost them less than £500k when he was signed from Fulham in June 2016.

What was notable yesterday afternoon as Rodgers discussed Dembele’s situation, is that there is recognition on both the part of the board and the manager that preventing the striker from moving on seems futile, regardless of the difficulties that leaves them with. The ideal scenario would be in persuading the player that he could wait until January for a move but that is a gamble on the part of the striker.

“I had a long chat with him on Tuesday night,” said Rodgers. “It’s football. It happens. You just have to deal with it best you can whether Moussa stays or goes.

“It’s not all going to be plain sailing and smooth.

“I think it’s difficult for players. There comes a certain time. It’s a really difficult situation because he’s a very talented player.

“We’ve got a couple of groups here. Now this is a cycle that probably comes on to Celtic every few years.

“So Moussa’s situation is, he came in here for £385,000, to develop and improve and become a better player.

“And then naturally, while he’s not from these shores, he can love the club and look to make the next step in his career. It was always going to come at some point.

“The last couple of years there’s been lots of speculation around it but nothing concrete, in terms of an offer or a bid.

“But there’s certainly speculation around it.

“So it’s one I absolutely understand 100-per-cent. The whole sort of plan that I’d spoken with Moussa a couple of years ago, understand why he might be thinking of the possibility of moving on.

“It’s was always in the thought.

“The boy’s been brilliant in his time here for me; committed, absolutely first class, it’s never been an issue.

“But of course there’s also the timing for the club. It’s only three days before the end of the window and the club’s now have to deal with something like this now.

“So there’s a lot to take in, but you certainly can’t let your top striker move on without even having anyone to come in and replace. I thought I could work with two strikers in my first season here. With the number of games and competitions we wanted to be in, that proved to be very difficult. So we need three strikers. How it will evolve over the next three days, I’m unsure.

“But we’ll deal with it.”

“It’s just timing - it’s like everything in life. Like I say it’s unfortunate that it’s come at this time.

“With Virgil there was a possibility the summer before for him to go. He played on for a year and then got his move a year after.

“When I met with him a few years ago I explained how it could go in terms of him improving and becoming a winner and showing that he can play at the highest level.

“All these steps have been taken. It’s something you have to deal with.

“It’s great that you have players with lots of value that can move on , but I think that Celtic is a club with cycles and this is the first of them in my time.”