Brendan Rodgers has discussed whether he will look to move Daizen Maeda into a striker role with Kyogo departing and Jota set to rejoin Celtic.
With Maeda previously having played up top for the Japan national team ahead of Kyogo, and Jota favouring playing off the left, a solution to losing Kyogo that has been touted on social media would be a front three of Nicolas Kuhn, Maeda, and Jota.
However, others see moving Maeda upfront as taking a player away from where he thrives off the left wing, with Jota also able to play off the right. Signing a direct like-for-like replacement for Kyogo this month will certainly prove difficult.
Mathias Kvistgaarden has been reported over the last week as a player that Celtic will look to sign if Kyogo were to leave the Hoops. With his impressive goalscoring record in the Danish Superliga, scoring 18 goals and providing 11 assists in 39 games over the past two seasons, that tally has led to interest from Eintracht Frankfurt and RB Leipzig, with both considering a possible move this month for the Brøndby forward.
When Asked ‘If Kyogo does leave and Jota comes in, is it in your mind perhaps to maybe play Daizen (Maeda) through the middle? It’s obviously a role that he knows very well from the national team.’
Rodgers said: (Celtic FC YouTube), “He can do that, but I would still want to bring in another striker. I think he can play there.
“If you look at Daizen’s numbers, I’m not sure exactly what they are. But when he arrived here, he came in here with something like 23 goals in 30-odd games. So he’s a different profile of striker.
“But in the two games I’ve played him in as a striker, he’s scored five goals as a striker. At Yokohama, he scored a hat-trick, and then earlier in the season against Hibs when Kyogo didn’t play, he scored two goals and was a threat. So he will get goals. What’s been really nice is to see the numbers that he’s able to get off the side.
“But I still think that we would need another striker. Definitely, we would want to bring in someone else.”
It’s a good message from Rodgers to Maeda that he is capable of replacing Kyogo as Celtic’s striker. However, he will look to sign another forward to compete, meaning the Hoops are not a player down.
With Kvistgaarden just 22 years old, at such a young age, he already has the proven pedigree of scoring in his homeland. The hope is that if he were to sign, he would be able to translate that success into Scottish football.
However, Maeda has shown in the J-League previously and in appearances this season that if he plays up front, he can do a job. But it’s clear that Rodgers wants a new striker this month.
