Celtic are in talks to sign the £5million star, and he’s such a perfect fit for Kyogo

Celtic moved 18 points higher at the top Scottish Premiership table on Saturday after a convincing 4-1 win over Ross County away to Glasgow.

The Hoops, who could move back to 15 points clear if Rangers win Sunday’s game, have failed to score in their previous two away games, losing 3-0 at Rangers and drawing 0-0 at Dundee United.

However, two goals from Kyoga Furuhashi and stoppage time goals from Arne Engels and Luke McCowan earned all three points for the Scottish giants as they rediscovered their goalscoring touch on their travels.

However, scoring goals was not the main problem for Celtic during the Premiership season, as the Hoops fired in 61 goals in 22 games.

No other team has scored more than 38 goals in the division and that speaks to how deadly and exciting it is Brendan Rodgers‘ the team was in the Scottish First Division during this period.

Despite this, the Northern Ireland head coach is reportedly still eyeing potential signings to boost his attacking options ahead of the second half of the 2024/25 season.

Celtic in negotiations to sign a new striker

According to Sky Sports reporter Anthony JosephCeltic are interested in signing Sarpsborg winger Sondre Ojrasaeter in the January transfer window, which opened almost two weeks ago.

The reporter reveals that the Hoops are in talks with the Norwegian outfit to discuss a potential transfer for the young striker, while Rodgers is plotting a move to find another option in wide areas.

Joseph claims the Premiership champions made contact with Sarpsborg at the start of December and have now advanced talks over a deal to bring the striker to Parkhead this month.

He adds, however, that there is also interest from clubs in France and Italy, meaning the Hoops could face serious competition for his signature if they make an official offer for the 21-year-old starlet.

Joseph, however, did not reveal how much Sarpsborg will ask for the young gem, who is valued at approx £5m according to Transfermarktso it remains to be seen how profitable the deal is for Celtic from a financial perspective.

The Bhoys should continue these negotiations to secure a start for the Norway U21 international, as he is an incredibly talented youngster who could come in as the perfect reinforcement for Kyogoo, who just added two goals to his season tally on Saturday.

Kyoga Furuhashi’s form this season

It’s been far from a perfect season for the Japan international, but you always know the 29-year-old star will be a threat in the upper half of the pitch, whether that translates into goals or not.

The first goal of the game against Ross County was Kyogo at his best. Alistair Johnston crossed the ball across the penalty area and the Japanese striker was the first to push it into the net from close range, illustrating his movement and instincts in front of goal.

He finished the game with two goals and two ‘big chances’ missed, which sort of sums up his season for Celtic. The Hoops number eight offers a decent goal threat but was often wasteful with the high-quality chances his team-mates created for him.

As you can see in the table above, Kyogo has missed seven more ‘big chances’ than he has scored in the Premiership, showing that he hasn’t made the most of the creativity provided by his teammates.

This is further illustrated by his xG sum is 14.03 in the league in this period, as it shows that he was four shots below the expected return of goals.

However, it shows that Kyogo consistently puts himself in positions to create high-quality chances and finish passes and crosses in the box, which is why the Japanese ace could be perfect for Orjasaeter.

What Sondre Orjasaeter could bring to Celtic

The Norwegian U21 national team player, who was nickname “artist” former Wolves star Håvard Flo is a creative winger who has the quality to break down opposition defenses and create big chances for his teammates in the upper half of the pitch.

Daizen Maeda has been Celtic’s first choice on the left flank for most of the season so far, starting 17 times in the Premiership, but creating chances is not his greatest strength on the wing.

The Japanese representative has created five ‘big chances’ in the league this term, having made five in 28 league appearances in 2023/24, and it shows that the winger is not regularly providing ‘big chances’ to his fellow strikers.

On the other hand, Orjasaeter’s performances for Sarpsborg in the 2024 Eliteserien season suggest he could offer much more than Maeda as a creative presence in the final third.

In fact, scout Matthew Rowley recently described the £5m-rated star as “creative” and “technical” player who could be effective at breaking down low blocks, as evidenced by his stats from last year.

As you can see in the table above, Orjasaeter finished the campaign with an incredible 53 key passes and 12 ‘big chances’ created in his 28 league appearances, two more ‘big chances’ than Maeda managed in the last two Premiership seasons combined.

These stats suggest that the winger would be perfect for Kyog as he can consistently break down opposition defenses to create high quality chances in front of goal.

This would give the Japan international even more of a chance to find the net in the second half of the season, and his wasteful finishing at times this season suggests he needs even more creativity from those around him.

So this deal could make a lot of sense for Celtic and provide Rodgers with a different and better Maeda-esque option on the left flank.