The January transfer window officially opened for business last week and Celtic could dip into the market to bolster their squad before next month’s deadline.
Despite the window only having been open for six days so far, plenty of players have already been linked with moves to Parkhead, and out of the club.
Out of favour central midfielder Odin Thiago Holm is reportedly closing in on a move to MLS side LAFC, whilst Dinamo Zagreb are interested in signing Greg Taylor on a permanent deal, as his current contract at the club is due to expire at the end of the season.
In terms of incoming deals, Celtic are reportedly working on a transfer to bring Scotland international Kieran Tierney back to Glasgow from Arsenal, whilst they are also interested in Sarpsborg winger Sondre Orjasaeter.
Chelsea central midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who worked with Brendan Rodgers at Leicester City, has also been linked with a move to Scotland.
One position that may be of interest to the Hoops in this window, however, is centre-forward because Kyogo Furuhashi and Adam Idah have both struggled at times this season.
Celtic's striker woes
Neither of the club’s two senior striker options have really put down a marker and shown that they are the reliable, lethal, number nine to be the star man for Celtic.
Kyogo has started more Scottish Premiership matches (13) than Idah (seven) but his return in front of goal has been far from impressive this season, despite two goals against St Johnstone recently.
Idah has scored five goals and missed eight ‘big chances’ in 17 appearances in the division so far this term, and has only managed one goal and zero assists in his last 11 outings for the club in all competitions.
Kyogo has been given more opportunities to shine, with his 13 league starts, but the Ireland international has not done enough – particularly in the last 11 matches – to show that he deserves more game time.
Unfortunately, however, the Japanese forward has failed to deliver consistent quality at the top end of the pitch in the Premiership with his performances.
Appearances
19
Starts
13
Goals
8
Big chances missed
15
Big chances created
0
As you can see in the table above, Kyogo has been incredibly wasteful with the high-quality chances that have been created for him, and has failed to create a single ‘big chance’ for his teammates.
A return of eight goals and 15 ‘big chances’ missed shows that he has not made the most of the creativity of his teammates, and that Celtic could, potentially, benefit from bringing in another forward who can offer more quality than Kyogo and Idah in the final third.
With this in mind, Rodgers could find a dream upgrade on the Japan international by revisiting his interest in one of the club’s summer transfer targets.
Celtic's interest in Polish star
In the summer transfer window, Celtic were pursuing a deal to sign LAFC attacking midfielder Mateusz Bogusz to come in and bolster the manager’s options at the top end of the pitch.
The Scottish giants were reportedly in talks to strike a deal for the Polish star, who was valued at £8m by the MLS outfit, and made a bid in an attempt to secure his signature.
Unfortunately, however, that bid was not enough to get a deal over the line and the window passed by without the Hoops being able to reach an agreement with LAFC.
After the window, Bogusz admitted that he “knew” about Celtic’s interest but he was not prepared to comment further on it, as he was committed to seeing out the 2024 MLS campaign with LAFC.
At the time of that interview, in September, the Glasgow Times added that the Premiership champions could revisit their interest in the former Leeds United gem in January, as it is currently the off-season for MLS teams.
With this in mind, the Hoops should go back in for the £8m-rated forward because he has the potential to arrive at Parkhead as an upgrade on what they currently have at their disposal at the top end of the pitch.
Why Celtic should sign Mateusz Bogusz
The Scottish giants should swoop to bring the talented attacker to Paradise for a multitude of reasons, and the first of those reasons is his age.
At the age of 23, Celtic would be investing in a player who could either play for the club for the next ten years and provide consistent quality on the pitch to contribute to trophies or perform well for a season or two before being sold for a huge profit after they develop during their time in Glasgow.
Whereas, Kyogo turns 30 this month and there may not be much more development, or potential for his value to increase, for him to go through before the end of his Hoops career.
Bogusz has played in a variety of roles throughout his time in the MLS, on the right wing, as an attacking midfielder, as a centre-forward, and as a central midfielder, but it is the number nine position where Celtic could get the best out of him.
As aforementioned, Rodgers’ current strikers have struggled in front of goal this season and the LAFC star’s form in the MLS in 2024 suggests that he has the potential to come in as an upgrade on Kyogo as a finisher.
Appearances
36
19
Goals
16
8
Big chances missed
5
15
Conversion rate
17%
15%
Big chances created
9
0
As you can see in the table above, Bogusz was a lethal finisher in the MLS last year, only missing five ‘big chances’ in 36 matches on his way to 16 goals.
His 16 strikes came from an xG of just 9.20. Meanwhile, Kyogo has scored eight times from 11.46 xG in the Premiership this season, which illustrates the gulf in finishing quality between the two.
Bogusz, who was once described as a “dangerous” player by journalist Greg Beacham, also created nine ‘big chances’ for his teammates in the MLS, which suggests that he could do more to bring others into the game than the Japanese forward is currently doing.
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Overall, the Poland international’s form for LAFC suggests that the potential is there for him to come in and be a dream upgrade on Kyogo, as a striker who has the ability to make the most of the ‘big chances’ that Celtic consistently create.