Celtic could sign Kyog’s dream upgrade for the £8m “dangerous” star

The January transfer window officially started last week and Celtic could enter the market to strengthen their squad before next month’s deadline.

Despite the window having only been open for six days so far, plenty of players have already been linked with moves to Parkhead and outside the club.

Central midfielders out of favor Odin’s Thiago Holm is reportedly closing in he moved to MLS LAFC, while Dinamo Zagreb is interested in a permanent contract with Greg Taylor, as his current contract with the club expires at the end of the season.

As for incoming jobs, Celtic are reportedly working in a transfer to bring Scotland international Kieran Tierney back to Glasgow from Arsenal, while they are also interested in Sarpsborg winger Sondre Orjasaeter.

Chelsea central midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, with whom he worked Brendan Rodgers at Leicester City, there is is also connected with a move to Scotland.

However, one position that could be of interest to the Hoops in this window is centre-forward as Kyogo Furuhashi and Adam Idah have struggled at times this season.

Celtic’s striker is struggling

Neither of the club’s two senior strikers have really made their mark and shown that they are a reliable, lethal number nine who could be Celtic’s star.

Kyogo started higher Scottish Premiership matches (13) than Idah (seven) but his return in front of goal has been far from impressive this season, despite a recent two goals against St Johnstone.

Idaho has scored five goals and missed eight ‘big chances’ in 17 league appearances so far this term, managing just one goal and zero assists in the last 11 appearances for the club in all competitions.

Kyogo has been given more chances to shine, with his 13 starting positions in the league, but the Irish international has not done enough – especially in the last 11 matches – to show that he deserves more minutes.

Unfortunately, however, the Japanese forward has failed to deliver consistent quality at the top of the pitch in the Premiership.

As you can see in the table above, Kyogo was incredibly wasteful with the high quality chances created for him, and failed to create a single ‘big chance’ for his teammates.

A return of eight goals and 15 missed ‘big chances’ shows that he has not maximized the creativity of his teammates, and that Celtic could potentially benefit from bringing in another striker who can offer more quality than Kyog and Idaho. the last third.

With this in mind, Rodgers could find a dream upgrade for the Japan international by re-examining his interest in one of the club’s summer transfer targets.

Celtic’s interest in the Polish star

In the summer transfer window, Celtic were looking to sign LAFC attacking midfielder Mateusz Bogusz to add to the managerial options in the upper half of the pitch.

Scottish giants were allegedly in negotiations to reach a deal for the Polish star, who is valued at £8m by the MLS side, and has made an offer in a bid to secure his signature.

However, unfortunately that offer was not enough to get the deal over the line and the window passed without the Hoops being able to reach an agreement with LAFC.

After the window, Bogusz admitted that he did “knew” of Celtic’s interest but he was not ready to comment further, as he was committed to seeing out the 2024 MLS campaign with LAFC.

At the time of that interview, in September, Glasgow Times added that the Premiership champions could again show their interest in the former Leeds United gem in January, as it is currently the off-season for MLS teams.

With this in mind, the Hoops should return for the £8m-rated striker as he has the potential to come to Parkhead as an upgrade to what they currently have available in the upper half of the pitch.

Why Celtic should sign Mateusz Bogusz

The Scottish giants should swoop in to bring the talented striker to Heaven for a number of reasons, the first of which is his age.

At the age of 23, Celtic would be investing in a player who could play for the club for the next ten years and provide consistent quality on the pitch to contribute to trophies or play well for a season or two before being sold for a big profit once they develop during time in Glasgow.

With Kyogo turning 30 this month, there may not be much more development or value-enhancing potential for him to go through before the end of his Hoops career.

Bogusz played in variety of roles all the time in MLS, on the right wing, as an attacking midfielder, as a central striker and as a central midfielder, but it is the number nine position where Celtic could get the best out of him.

As previously mentioned, Rodgers’ current forwards have struggled in front of goal this season and the LAFC star’s form in MLS 2024 suggests he has the potential to come in as an upgrade on Kyoga as a finisher.

As you can see in the table above, Bogusz was a lethal finisher in MLS last year, missing just five ‘big chances’ in 36 matches on his way to 16 goals.

His 16 shots came from an xG of only 9.20. Meanwhile, Kyogo scored eight times of 11.46 xG in the Premiership this season, illustrating the gulf in finishing quality between the two.

Bogusz, who was once described as “dangerous” player per reporter Greg Beacham, he also created nine ‘big chances’ for his MLS teammates, suggesting he could do more to bring others into the game than the Japanese forward is currently doing.

Overall, the Polish international’s form for LAFC suggests there is potential for him to come in and become Kyogu’s dream build-up, as a striker who has the ability to make the most of the ‘big chances’ that Celtic keep creating.