Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers is on the lookout for new talent to bolster his squad, having only been able to welcome Nicolas Kuhn from Rapid Vienna thus far in the January window.
Kuhn, who joins the ranks alongside Liel Abada, Luis Palma, Daizen Maeda, James Forrest, Mikey Johnston and Yang is set to enhance the team’s options on the flanks.
Rodgers is keen on further strengthening the team before the month ends, with a particular emphasis on adding a striker. This need becomes more pressing considering that Maeda and Hyeongyu Oh are away at the Asian Cup, leaving Kyogo Furuhashi as the only recognised striker for the upcoming games in February.
Rodgers expressed his concerns over the weekend, quoted by The Herald: “It’s an area we have to look at, we can’t ignore it. It’s the balance between bringing someone in to challenge while acknowledging that’s a difficult sell to someone when Kyogo has been fantastic here. Or is it a young player who comes in with potential to improve and get better? Those are the things that you think about, because it really is only for a short period of time that those guys will be missing [at the African Cup of Nations and the Asian Cup]. But, yeah, it’s all about availability.”
He further added, “It’s also one that we have been looking at for a period of time and it would have really changed if Kyogo had gone away with Japan. That was our thinking process, that we would actually be left with no one.
“Him being here for virtually one game a week for a number of weeks changes the dynamic. It’s about getting the right players in. You can easily bring players in. But sometimes it takes a bit of time and patience. We’ve got the winger we wanted and there are some other positions we want to improve. If the players are available and we can do a deal, then great. If not, we’ll move on to the summer. It will only be if the right players are not available.”
The challenge Rodgers faces is ensuring the squad is robust enough to handle any scenario in the latter half of the season, especially if Kyogo is unavailable due to injury or suspension. The question remains: does Rodgers have enough faith in his current striking options? The Celtic fans sure don’t!
Even when Oh is back from international duty, there’s room for improvement from the South Korean, but as Rodgers points out, convincing a player to join as a secondary option to Kyogo is not straightforward.
It’s a tough recruitment challenge, but necessary to keep the team well-equipped for the upcoming challenges. There are ten days left of the January window. If Celtic can’t find the right candidates, they’re putting their title challenge in jeopardy.
