Celtic wide-man Daizen Maeda returned to fitness midway through December in what was a noteworthy boost for the champions. Currently, however, he is away on international duty at the Asian Cup with Japan.

Maeda will return next month and by that point, Celtic may have brought in another body at the top end of the park. Even after the arrival of Nicolas Kuhn, many believe the Hoops’ frontline needs strengthened, particularly through the middle.

Kyogo and Oh can amply play there, but fans think another striker should be signed this month. All indications point towards this coming to fruition, but some have floated the idea that Maeda could also be used as a centre-forward.

Previously, the 26-year-old has played through the middle in attack for the Hoops. It is within his repertoire, but he is not a natural number nine.

Although some supporters would be content with playing Maeda up top, others wouldn’t, and pundit and ex-Celt Mark Wilson is certainly in the camp of the latter: “I think in the final third when he gets into those crossing positions, one-v-ones, I think he lacks composure a lot of the time”, he said (Clyde 1 Superscoreboard). “And I think if you’re going to be a real good number nine for Celtic, you need composure.”