Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers plans to loan out Kouassi Eboue

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers is ready to loan out Kouassi Eboue to aid his development and improvement.

The former Krasnodar midfielder who joined the Scottish champions in January 2017 has been unable to cement regular playing time due to the presence of in-form captain Scott Brown.

Eboue has played just nine games for the Celtic Park outfit since his arrival from the Russian Premier League, with just two appearances in the Scottish top-flight this season.

However, Rodgers has hailed the 20-year-old for his work-rate in training and sees him as the eventual replacement for Brown but he might consider a steady playing time for the Acocra-Dabou-born player for the second half of the season.

“Eboue was brought in and he plays a specific role — the Scott Brown role," Rodgers told Daily Record.

“Scott just so happens to be the captain and he’s been brilliant. So it’s been difficult. Broony is one I’ve taken out the odd time, and I’ve got Eboue in.

“But there’s no doubt he hasn’t played a lot of games. It’s not because of him, it’s because of the form of our skipper

“Kouassi’s one who is brilliant in training. He does everything, and longer-term he will certainly fulfil that role when Scott moves on.

“But while we wait for that we need to ensure Eboue is developing and improving.

“That might mean game-time in the second part of the season. He needs to be playing. We’ll see but you need to weigh it up.”