Celtic supporters may have been left feeling a little underwhelmed after the deadline for the January transfer passed on Monday night without a new striker coming through the door.
The Hoops were in the market to add another number nine to their squad because Adam Idah is the only senior, recognised, centre-forward in the squad, with Daniel Cummings and Johnny Kenny offering depth as young strikers.
Brendan Rodgers lost an influential player during the window in that position after Kyogo Furuhashi completed a permanent move to Ligue 1 side Rennes.
The Japan international, as you can see in the clips above, scored 63 goals in the Scottish Premiership during his time with the Hoops, including ten this season, and they opted not to replace him.
Celtic were reportedly interested in a deal to sign Brondby marksman Mathias Kvistgaarden, but talks broke down over the Danish side’s valuation of the forward, and the Bhoys did not find a suitable alternative before the deadline.
The Scottish giants, instead, ended deadline day with one new addition, on top of bringing in Jota earlier in the window, as they swooped for Jeffrey Schlupp on loan from Crystal Palace.
Jeffrey Schlupp’s current market value
The Ghana international, whose contract with the Premier League side is due to expire at the end of the season, is currently valued at €6m (£5m) by Transfermarkt.
His value has remained high despite his struggles on the pitch in the top-flight for Palace in the 2024/25 campaign. He did not start a single match in the first half of the season, with all 12 of his appearances coming as a substitute, and the versatile ace did not contribute with any goals or assists for his team.
Schlupp has a high value, though, because he arrives at Parkhead as a player who has been a regular in the Premier League over the last ten years or so, with 280 outings in the division for Palace and Leicester City combined.
The 32-year-old star can, therefore, provide valuable experience from having played in a major league for so many years, whilst he is also able to offer value through the versatility he possesses on the pitch.
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Jeffrey Schlupp’s top 5 positions |
|
|---|---|
|
Position |
Starts |
|
Left midfield |
119 |
|
Central midfield |
83 |
|
Left-back |
75 |
|
Left wing |
17 |
|
Centre-forward |
11 |
|
Stats via Transfermarkt |
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As you can see in the table above, the former Premier League title-winner has the ability to play in a multitude of positions for Rodgers, although one theory is that he will mainly provide cover for Greg Taylor at left-back.
Alex Valle’s loan from Barcelona was cut short in January and that left a vacant spot in that position behind Taylor, which Schlupp could, now, fill.
Whilst the Palace veteran can provide quality and experience on a loan deal, which is not set to cost Celtic millions, the Hoops do have one back-up defender who they may regret signing.
The defender Celtic must regret signing
Rodgers returned to Parkhead in the summer of 2023 to replace Ange Postecoglou and the Northern Irish boss decided that he needed to bolster his options at the heart of the defence.
Carl Starfelt completed a move to Celta Vigo in Spain and the Hoops reacted by bringing in three new centre-backs, Gustaf Lagerbielke, Maik Nawrocki, and Nat Phillips, whilst Liam Scales returned from his loan at Aberdeen.
The Scottish giants reportedly splashed out a significant fee of £4.3m to sign Nawrocki from Polish giants Legia Warsaw, possibly in the hope that he would be able to form a solid partnership with Cameron Carter-Vickers.
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23/24 Premiership |
Maik Nawrocki |
|---|---|
|
Appearances |
10 |
|
Starts |
7 |
|
Tackles + interceptions per game |
2.0 |
|
Error led to goal/shot |
0 |
|
Duel success rate |
57% |
|
Stats via Sofascore |
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As you can see in the table above, the 23-year-old central defender only went on to start seven matches in the Premiership during the 2023/24 campaign, as Carter-Vickers and Scales eventually became the first-choice pairing.
Nawrocki was hardly terrible, winning the majority of his duels without making any major errors, in his ten league appearances for the Hoops, but his displays were not impressive enough to convince Rodgers to hand him more minutes on the pitch.
Maik Nawrocki’s current market value
At the time of writing (05/02/2025), Transfermarkt currently values the Polish flop at €2.5m (£2m) and this means that his value has plummeted by around £2.3m in just 18 months at Parkhead.
He is worth way less than Schlupp, who has not cost the Hoops a transfer fee, and it appears as though Celtic will have to take a loss on him when they eventually decide to part ways, unless there is a miraculous turnaround.
Nawrocki is reportedly on a weekly wage of £12k – £624k-per-season – and this means that he will have earned roughly £1.2m in wages by the end of this term – his second year at the club.
This illustrates how much the Scottish giants have wasted on the 23-year-old dud, as they have spent around £5.5m on transfer fees and wages, for him to only start seven league matches in 18 months.
The former Legia Warsaw star has not made a single appearance in the Champions League or the Premiership, as Auston Trusty, Carter-Vickers, and Liam Scales have all been preferred ahead of him.
This means that, to date, Nawrocki has cost Celtic around £780k per league start and his declining market value suggests that they are unlikely to recoup much of the money they have spent on him back.
He is a depreciating asset whilst sat on the bench, or in the stands, and never playing, which does make it odd that they did not allow him to move on – permanently or on loan – in the January transfer window, provided there was any interest in his services.
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Overall, as it stands, Celtic should regret splashing the cash on him for Rodgers back in the summer of 2023 because he has not proven to be a value for money signing, as they will hope Schlupp will be in the second half of this season.
