THE Patrick Roberts deal always felt like a paradigm shift when it came to Celtic transfers. Rather than buying potential at the bottom end of the market, developing it, and selling it on - see Victor Wanyama and Virgil van Dijk - here was a chance to borrow for 18 months a teenager in whom one of the world's richest clubs already had a serious investment. Rather than earning the club a multi-million transfer fee, Roberts' main task at Parkhead was justifying the £12m that City had already spent on him.

The only problem is that the more successful he has become, the sadder the club's supporters have become about having to hand this PFA Scotland young player of the year nominee back. The easy accusation is of short-termism, but Brendan Rodgers feels there are long-term spin-offs from this kind of arrangement, however intangible. And he reckons more Barclays Premier League clubs should be queuing up to loan their prime young talent to the club - even if he will never take a young English-based starlet when there is a youngster of similar quality in his own academy.

With the Ladbrokes Premiership title already in the bag, the Northern Irishman is ready to give youth a chance against St Johnstone this afternoon, with full back Tony Ralston in contention for a start in place of the rested Mikael Lustig. But as much as blooding young players is part of his DNA as a coach, he feels that further successful loan deals for future Barclays Premier League superstars make sense. Rather than developing players for other clubs, the 44-year-old sees it as a way to recruit a higher standard of player than the club could normally afford and making connections which could lead to permanent signings in the future.

"There is a huge amount of investment going into academies in England, but there is nowhere for the players to play," said Rodgers. "You have some of the best young players in world football and they don't get a game. So if you are looking for a loan for one of your young players who, okay, might not get a game right now but could be ready in two or three years' time, where are you going to send them? This is the type of club Celtic is. They are going to be educated in football and life here, train well and go back a better player. This is the environment we have here.

"I don't see it as developing players for other clubs," he added. "I have a duty to bring in the best players. And I see it as an opportunity. I took Gylfi [Sigurdsson] and put him in the team when I was manager at Reading. He got a £10m move on the back of that to Hoffenheim. I went in at Swansea and he wasn't enjoying his time there. So I took him in on a loan at Swansea and got him back enjoying his football. I then went to Liverpool, he went to Tottenham, and it didn't work out. So where does he want to go after? He goes back to Swansea. So you never know what can lead from it.

"But I will never take a boy if he is close to another boy that we have here already. The first look is within, always."

On that subject, Rodgers sees plenty of talent in the youth academy he has at Parkhead. It is just now a matter of timing, with the manager determined that any young players will have to earn their first team chance. There is already clamour, for instance, to introduce Jack Aitchison, the17-year-old who is away playing with Scotland's Under-17 team, but Rodgers feels that only the most special talents can cut it at first team level at that age.

"Some of the young boys will get involved at the weekend," said Rodgers. "But there is nothing free in this game. There can't be. Years ago, you earned it. But I love doing it. I go back to my first job at Watford and my first signing was an 18-year-old midfield player who I took on-loan and is now captain of Leeds, Liam Bridcutt. At Swansea I put Joe Allen in and put Steven Caulker into the team when he was 19. At Liverpool we had Raheem [Sterling] at 17 and other young players but it is just timing and they have to have the quality.

"There are a number of young players here and when we get the right moment they will get the opportunity to play. This season it has been difficult because of the level the [first team] players have been playing at. It is a heavy shirt, the Celtic shirt, and you have to be ready to wear it. A lot of players can't cope with it. It is not just a case of throwing them in and then chucking them to the garbage. Stay calm, let them learn their trade. They might need to get experience outside of here to get experience in here."

As for what happens with Roberts this summer, Rodgers feels it would do him no harm to continue in Scotland and wouldn't think twice should Manchester City make him available on a permanent transfer this summer. "I would definitely take him, there is no question about that," he said.