Whatever side of the Adam Idah debate you fall on, it’s clear that the No 1 transfer priority for Brendan Rodgers this summer will be to bring in a new striker to complement the forward options available.
Daizen Maeda might have filled the gap left by Kyogo Furuhashi’s January departure in award-winning style but, with Jota out for a lengthy spell, it is likely that the Japanese reverts to a wing role while Rodgers tries to get more bang for his buck from Irishman Idah.
Fans will no doubt crave a high-profile arrival but these don’t come cheap and it would be a bold move from the Parkhead paymasters to have two £9million front men competing for a shirt that may be best filled by a man out wide.
One look at Rodgers’ transfer history might convince fans that going ‘cheaper’ might be the safer option, given the former Liverpool and Leicester boss has a fairly spotty record when it comes to splashing out on elite strikers.
At Liverpool, Rodgers spent close to £50m on Christian Benteke and Mario Balotelli and the return on goals was eye-wateringly modest.
Roberto Firmino only flourished after Rodgers was sacked and Jurgen Klopp arrived to transform Liverpool’s style, while Iago Aspas failed to record a single league goal before heading back to Spain and going on to international acclaim.
Brendan Rodgers hasn’t always had the best track record when it comes to recruiting strikers during his career
Christian Benteke’s goalscoring return at Liverpool was eye-wateringly modest after he was drafted in by Rodgers
Mario Balotelli, above left, was another who didn’t work out for Rodgers at Anfield
Rickie Lambert’s move to Liverpool would be the equivalent of Simon Murray checking in at Parkhead this summer, while Divock Origi may have earned cult hero status at Anfield but it wasn’t for the regularity of his goals.
Fabio Borini and Lazar Markovic, at £10m and £20m respectively, were predominantly wingers, yet the mere mention of their names still brings the Kop out in a cold sweat.
At Leicester, meanwhile, Ayoze Perez was a £30m turkey and Patson Daka, at £23m, failed to live up to early promise and is no one’s idea of the next Jamie Vardy.
Rodgers’ most striking transfer success would undoubtedly have been the arrival of Moussa Dembele at Celtic, signed for a paltry development fee of £500,000 from Fulham, while compatriot Odsonne Edouard was both a loan arrival and £8m permanent signing and could be judged a success on both counts.
Money spent on Vakoun Bayo and exorbitant loan fees splurged on the likes of Charly Musonda and Timothy Weah failed to represent value.
Of course, the onus is on the club’s network of scouts and recruitment chiefs to present Rodgers with a few winning options, but fans have every right to be wary over their manager’s track record of selecting the right fit.
And, for a coach who prides himself on improving players, it’s also striking how many of his former charges went on to find more prolific form after moving on.
One thing is for sure, a summer of speculation and bargaining will make for interesting viewing at Parkhead and beyond.
The Celtic manager hit the jackpot, however, when he lured Moussa Dembele to Parkhead during his first spell at the club
Prize guy Kyle Ure takes first big step towards becoming club’s next homegrown hero
If there is one thing Celtic supporters would like to see more of in this trophy-laden era, it is new, homegrown players emerging from the ranks and establishing themselves in the first team.
In recent years, not many have threatened to follow in the footsteps of James Forrest (now the club’s most decorated player), Callum McGregor (who will surely eclipse him) and Kieran Tierney.
Plenty have made it to the fringes, or headed south before they have matured, but the fans would love it if a young Scot were to break into Brendan Rodgers’ squad and become a star of the starting XI.
On Sunday night, the club’s young player of the year award went to Kyle Ure, a 19-year-old midfielder who has been playing for Celtic’s B team in the Lowland League.
Ure can be proud of his career so far, which includes captaining Celtic’s under-18s to the Scottish Youth Cup, featuring strongly in this season’s UEFA youth league and playing at age-group level for Scotland.
Having signed a two-year extension to his contract in January, he has until 2027 to take it further by impressing Rodgers and earning his chance in the full squad.
It will not be easy, though. For every Tierney who takes Scottish football by storm, there are dozens of others in the academy system who move down the professional ladder or give up the game altogether.
Kyle Ure, 19, has been named Celtic’s young player of the year after impressing for B team
Midfielder Ure (above right) in action for Celtic B against their Rangers counterparts
The ambition for young men like Ure is to become a homegrown hero like skipper Callum McGregor (above)
If Ure can’t be the next McGregor – and, let’s be honest, there aren’t many of them around – maybe he can be the next Anthony Ralston or Stephen Welsh, who have been valuable squad men to Celtic.
Those two are not the most talented players Celtic have ever produced, but they have got the absolute most from themselves by giving it their best shot. If Ure does the same, that’s all you can ask.
Evergreen James Forrest is undeterred by rivals for his Celtic shirt
Record breaker James Forrest has welcomed Brendan Rodgers’ talk of strengthening the Celtic frontline and signing new wing talent over the summer – because he’s always thrived on seeing off new contenders for his shirt.
The 34-year-old, now the club’s most-decorated player after overtaking Bobby Lennox to rack up 26 trophies, is under contract for next season and hopes to carry on contributing to the first-team cause.
Rodgers had already made it clear he was looking towards signing a new winger before Jota suffered knee ligament damage at Tannadice that will rule him out of action for the next six to nine months – and will definitely enter the market this summer to strengthen the flanks.
However, Forrest has no intention of being a bit-part player and has spoken about how much he’s enjoyed the challenge of new rivals in his position over his 16 years around the top-team squad.
‘The club, every year I’ve been in the first-team, have always signed a winger,’ he told the official Celtic podcast. ‘They’ve always signed attackers and I think that’s what the club is all about. It’s about attacking football, pleasing the fans and winning plenty of trophies in a certain style.
James Forrest on the attack against Rangers in last Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Ibrox
Veteran Forrest has seen off numerous rivals for his jersey at Parkhead over 16 years
‘That keeps you on your toes. Maybe some people would say that I’m comfortable staying at Celtic, but it feels as though it’s the opposite.
‘You’re winning trophies, going for league titles, going for cups and there is pressure on you in every game. You need that hunger to keep going.
‘It’s good when the club have signed wingers because it gives you competition. Wingers have come and you can take bits from their game as well. That competition for places has definitely helped me to kick on throughout my career here.’
Elena Sadiku urges deposed champions to keep their heads held high for rest of campaign
Elena Sadiku has admitted that her Celtic team have only pride to play for in what’s left of the season after a defeat by Glasgow City ended their slim title hopes.
A 3-1 loss at Petershill Park on Sunday left them 11 points behind leaders Hibs and six behind third-placed Rangers with three games left.
Three down at half-time, Celtic pulled one back through Lucy Ashworth-Clifford, but they could not prevent a defeat that left their manager hugely frustrated.
While Sadiku insists her players understand the demands of playing for Celtic, she says their concentration is a problem that will need to be addressed.
Elena Sadiku has told her players they still have pride to play for despite a miserable end to the campaign
Lucy Ashworth-Clifford scored a consolation goal in Celtic’s 3-1 defeat to Glasgow City
One bright spot for Celtic was seeing right-back Emma Lawton voted PFA Scotland WPSL Player of the Year
She has warned them that even in their remaining games – at home to Rangers on Sunday, followed by Hibs away and Motherwell at home – they cannot afford to switch off.
‘We have everything to play for in terms of our character and pride,’ said Sadiku. ‘The whole season, the players have learned so much in terms of Celtic standards, who we are and who we want to be perceived as. But the first half let us down [on Sunday].
‘I’ve been very proud of this team and how they’ve been playing. They are brave. Look at Amy Gallacher… breaking the lines and she always wants the ball. It’s just moments that make me frustrated. We can play so good football but that moment when we switch off… that hurts us. It can kill us.
‘This is something we need to take into next season. We can never switch off.’
Sadiku was especially annoyed to see her team fall behind after a bright start on Sunday. ‘The first goal is not Celtic standards,’ she said. ‘To have a right winger pass through the whole back line and score is just not good enough. It’s not who we are.’
While it was a miserable day for the team, Emma Lawton was later voted PFA Scotland WPSL Player of the Year. It was fitting recognition for the 23-year-old right-back, who has broken into the Scotland team during her first full season with Celtic.
Ex-Celtic keeper points finger at Holyrood over lack of action for dementia sufferers
News of former Celtic striker Andy Payton’s diagnosis of early-onset dementia at the age of 57 has led to one ex-Parkhead star pointing the finger at the Scottish Government for failing to support players and their families affected by the condition.
Former Celtic striker Andy Payton revealed that he has been diagnosed with early-onset dementia
Ex-Scotland and Celtic goalkeeper Alan Rough believes not enough is being done to help former players who suffer with dementia
Payton, who played up front for the Bhoys between 1992 and 1993, revealed earlier this week that almost half of his brain tracts have been damaged and blames it on repeated heading of the ball throughout his career.
Two years ago, former Celtic and Scotland keeper Alan Rough joined a campaign involving 30 legendary figures in Scottish football – including Sir Alex Ferguson, Gordon Strachan and Alex McLeish – which sought to have brain injuries suffered by ex-footballers classed as an industrial injury that would result in benefit payments and state support.
Rough has since travelled to the Scottish Parliament to talk about the issue and has admitted his frustration at no obvious end result.
‘We went through to Holyrood, a group of footballers, just to put a case forward,’ Rough told PLZ. ‘I think it was about six or seven months ago and I think, unfortunately, it didn’t get taken any further.
‘It was put in front of MSPs and we debated it for a long, long time. Everybody threw in their tuppence worth about my generation and other generations, but I don’t think anything happened.
‘Usually, when it comes to something like that, it just goes round and round and round and nothing happens.’
