RB LEIPZIG manager Ralf Rangnick last night insisted his club, one of the richest in Germany, could not afford to buy Celtic’s best young players.

Kieran Tierney earned a special mention from this highly respected coach who also named-dropped Callum McGregor and Odsonne Edouard as players he admired but feared were beyond his spending limits.

It is an extraordinary claim for a team which has spent over £220m in the last four seasons, £43m on three players last summer and £13m when the bought Scot Oliver Burke two years ago.

Rangnick said: “Tierney, McGregor and Edouard are great talents in Scottish football. Tierney in particular is one of the biggest talents in Europe. He can defend and he likes to get forward.

“Those three are good players but Celtic are a club that is well known across Europe for not letting players go for a bargain. We are not interested in them though – because we don’t have the kind of money needed to invest in those players!”

Rangnick believes Red Bull Salzburg will win Group B, the Austrians have a maximum six points and face Rosenborg, yet to win a point, at home this evening.

This would make the next two matches between Celtic and the Bundesliga side, they sit sixth in the league a place and point behind Bayern Munich, essentially a play-off for second place.

Celtic have won only two group matches in their European history stretching back to 2001 and so should they even get a draw, it would be one of their best results in some time at this level.

Rangnick said: “I think these two games with Celtic will be definitive as these are the two teams which are fighting for second spot. Salzburg have won both their games and I would expect them to win both matches against Rosenborg.

“It looks like this and Celtic Park will be decisive to finish second and qualify from the group. These games will be very important. We want to win this match and also achieve a positive result at Celtic Park.

“I can’t tell you if Celtic have played badly in Europa League or Champions League qualification, so I can’t talk about their away record.

“But I do know Brendan Rodgers from Celtic and his spell at Liverpool and we know how he likes his teams to play. They don’t play typically kick and rush of Scottish football. They have technically strong players and they always try to find solutions by playing technical football.

“They like to press and build from the back using their wing backs. Celtic are a good team. We don’t think it will be an easy encounter. We don’t necessarily need a high victory but the most important thing is winning.

“Jochen Schneider (RB head of Sport is a big Celtic fan but he won’t be on the bench with his Celtic shirt – at least I hope not.

“We know what to expect. It will be a fantastic atmosphere at Celtic Park and I am sure it will be the same here. I came back this morning from Frankfurt and there were a lot of Celtic fans in the airport.”

Rangnick admitted being confused as to why Marvin Compper, who moved from Leipzig to Celtic last January, has made zero impact since what at the time was seen as a coup for the Parkhead club.

The defender played 87 minutes against Morton in the Scottish Cup not long after he signed and hasn’t been seen since.

Rangnick said: “Myself and Marvin had high expectations after his transfer to Celtic. He’s had to fight injury problems and couldn’t train for a long time.

“I’ve known him for a long time and he’s a real leader on the pitch. But he can only show it if he is playing. We chatted a few weeks ago and we wish him all the best. Hopefully he gets the chance to show the qualities he has.”