The Scottish Premiership trophy will once again be decorated in green and white this summer, barring anything drastic, although last week’s Old Firm defeat has showcased that this Celtic side are far from the finished article.
Indeed, the issue surrounding the Hoops’ centre-forward berth continues, with Brendan Rodgers no doubt in need of another body to lead the line, following Kyogo Furuhashi’s January departure.
The Glasgow giants have largely coped rather well even amid the Japanese striker’s abrupt exit, not least with Daizen Maeda leading the scoring charts with 13 league goals, although deploying the latter man in that central role is surely only a short-term solution.
Against Rangers, for instance, Maeda’s well-taken header actually came after he had been moved back out onto the flanks, with Adam Idah introduced at the break in place of Nicolas Kuhn.
The Republic of Ireland star does provide a useful focal point, in contrast to Maeda and Kyogo in that role, although a return of three goals from his last 17 top-flight outings makes for grim reading, not least considering his £9.5m price tag.
Those goalscoring woes, which have seen the 24-year-old score just 14 times all season, will likely only heighten the desire to sign a new number nine this summer.
Celtic’s summer search for a striker
Amid his push to earn improved game time at international level, ahead of next year’s World Cup, Kyogo made the decision to leave Rodgers’ side to join struggling Ligue 1 outfit, Rennes, during the winter window.
That £10m sale has left a void that needs to be filled at the end of this season, with the Scottish champions having opted not to replace the 30-year-old immediately in January.
Rumours were rife regarding potential moves for the likes of Kelechi Iheanacho and Evan Ferguson, among others, although Rodgers and co were ultimately left empty-handed, albeit while bringing wing wizard, Jota, back into the fold to bolster the attack.
As reported last month, one January target who the Hoops could already be working on a deal for ahead of the summer is Brondby’s, Mathias Kvistgaarden, with the 22-year-old having been on the club’s radar over the last year so.
The Danish marksman has been in fine form in 2024/25 to date after netting 15 times in just 26 games in all competitions, having registered 56 goals and assists, in total, in 114 outings for his current side.
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Kvistgaarden’s Superliga season in numbers |
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19 games (16 starts) |
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11 goals |
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8 big chances missed |
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117 mins per goal |
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4 assists |
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4 big chances created |
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25.6 touches* |
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0.8 key passes* |
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0.8 successful dribbles* |
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49% total duels won |
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Stats via Sofascore |
Reportedly valued at £13.5m during the January window, it could potentially take a record fee to land the prolific forward, with it yet to be seen whether that is a gamble that Rodgers and co are willing to take.
Celtic will no doubt be aware that recruiting promising young strikers from their homeland doesn’t always work out, just ask Patryk Klimala.
The Celtic flop who’s more prolific than Kyogo & Idah
In the case of Kvistgaarden, there may be concerns over whether he can make that transition from Denmark to Scottish football, with the rising star having only turned out for Brondby in his career to date.
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A similar scenario occurred in the case of Klimala, with the 6 foot centre-forward making the move to Glasgow on a £3.5m deal in January 2020, having only played in his native Poland prior to that.
Klimala – who was 21 at the time of the move – was initially tipped for big things upon his arrival at Celtic Park, with ex-Celtic man Maciej Zurawski stating:
“He is very quick,” Zurawski said. “Very, very quick. And he’s extremely good one-on-one, when he faces up the defender.The one area of his game he has to improve his finishing, converting chances into goals. But you can see that he has the potential – and that finishing touch will come in time.”
As it proved, he lasted just over a year at the club before moving to New York Red Bulls in April 2021, with Celtic at least managing to recoup the £3.5m they had spent on him in the first place.
In 28 games, Klimala had scored just three goals in all competitions during his time in Scotland, after failing to earn a regular role for himself ahead of the likes of Odsonne Edouard and Leigh Griffiths.
Four years on from his Celtic exit, however, and the 26-year-old has found his groove out in Australia, having joined A-League side Sydney FC back in September, on loan from parent club Slask Wraclow.
In just 26 games for his new side, Klimala has scored 14 times and grabbed a further five assists. Idah, meanwhile has hit 14 goals but from 44 games across all fronts, while Kyogo has scored just 12 times in 2024/25 to date.
Klimala is then even more prolific than his Celtic counterparts, having scored once every 1.85 games, while Idah has scored once every 3.14 games back in Glasgow.
It is then interesting to see the Pole’s journey from something of a goal-shy figure at Parkhead, to now shining elsewhere.
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