Celtic enjoyed a relatively decent season last time out as Brendan Rodgers lifted two domestic trophies in his first year back in the dugout at Parkhead.
The Northern Irish boss came in to replace Ange Postecoglou, who departed for Tottenham Hotspur and the Premier League, last summer and won the Scottish Premiership title and the SFA Cup.
However, the Hoops were knocked out of the Champions League at the group stage, finishing bottom of their group, and they could be set to aim for more success in Europe to go alongside domestic success next term.
Changes to the squad could help the Scottish giants to push on in the continent and the forward department has already seen some alterations this summer.
Adam Idah spent the second half of last season on loan from Norwich City and the Hoops are reportedly continuing talks to sign him on a permanent deal, having already had an offer of £4m plus add-ons turned down.
The Scottish Premiership champions have also allowed one of their senior strikers from last season to move on this month as Hyeon-gyu Oh was sold to Genk.
Celtic's Hyeon-gyu Oh masterclass
The Belgian outfit have reportedly paid a fee of £4.5m to sign the South Korea international to bolster their forward line ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.
That is £2m more than the £2.5m the Bhoys reportedly paid Suwon Bluewings to bring him to Glasgow in the January transfer window at the start of last year.
Celtic, therefore, played a masterclass with the 23-year-old attacker as they almost doubled their money on him, despite his distinct lack of quality on the pitch during his 18-month spell at Paradise.
Firstly, his finishing during the 2023/24 Premiership campaign left a bit to be desired as he plundered five goals from 6.35 xG, an underperformance of 1.35.
Kyogo Furuhashi
18.39
14
-4.39
Daizen Maeda
8.78
6
-2.78
Reo Hatate
4.92
3
-1.92
Luis Palma
8.54
7
-1.54
Hyeon-gyu Oh
6.35
5
-1.35
As you can see in the table above, only four Celtic players underperformed their expected tally by more than the South Korean dud, who was behind Kyogo Furuhashi and Idah in the pecking order in his final few months at the club.
The biggest issue for Oh was that he did not offer much outside of scoring goals and that meant that his wasteful finishing made him a liability for the side.
In the Premiership last season, the right-footed marksman failed to create a single 'big chance', did not register any assists, and only made 0.3 key passes per game across 20 appearances, which shows that he offered very little, if anything at all, as a creative threat.
Oh also lost 58% of his ground duels and 60% of his battles in the air in those 20 league outings, which shows that opposition defenders got the better of him in physical contests more often than not.
Taking these statistics into account, Celtic played a blinder to make a £2m profit on him as his performances on the pitch did not suggest that he was worth more than they paid for him, as the forward struggled physically and technically.
Rodgers could, now, perfectly replace the £4.5m sale by dipping into the market to sign one of the club's reported targets before the end of the summer transfer window.
Celtic's interest in Danish sensation
The Scottish giants reportedly have a long-standing interest in Brondby centre-forward Mathias Kvistgaarden, and they already know how much he would cost.
Back in June, Austrian outlet VICTAURI, as relayed by the Daily Record, claimed that the Hoops target had a price tag of €10m (£8.4m) this summer.
The report stated that RB Salzburg are also eyeing up a possible move for the Danish sensation and that they had already sent scouts to watch him in action.
However, the Bundesliga side were not willing to pay the £8.5m transfer fee required for him at the time, which meant that they did not press ahead with a deal for his services.
This means that the door could still be open for the Hoops to swoop in to bring him to Parkhead as the dream replacement for Oh in Glasgow next season.
Why Mathias Kvistgaarden would perfectly replace Oh
Being a back-up striker option, at least initially, is a hard sell for players and a difficult position for Celtic to fill, particularly if they also sign Idah from Norwich to join Kyogo in the striker ranks at Parkhead.
However, it could be sold to Kvistgaarden as an opportunity for him to prove himself and potentially earn a move to a major league in Europe, whilst winning trophies and playing European football.
At the age of 22, he is younger than Oh and seven years younger than Kyogo, which means that the talented gem could come in as the long-term heir to the Japan international.
This suggests that Kvistgaarden would be perfect for the role that the South Korean dud vacated as a young back-up striker with the potential to emerge as a key figure for Rodgers in the future.
His statistics for Brondby in the Danish Superliga also suggest that he could come in as a big upgrade on Oh, in terms of what he offers on and off the ball, as he enjoyed what talent scout Jacek Kulig described as a "superb season".
Appearances
24
20
Goals
8
5
Assists
5
0
Big chances created
6
0
Duel success rate
45%
41%
As you can see in the table above, the 22-year-old sensation offered more to his team as both a scorer and a creator of goals, whilst also winning a higher percentage of his duels.
This suggests that Kvistgaarden, who racked up 31 goals and 11 assists in 45 games for Brondby's U19s, could provide a greater threat at the top end of the pitch for Celtic, in comparison to Oh.
Therefore, the Danish marksman could perfectly replace the new Genk signing due to his age profile, potential, and quality that he could immediately bring to the team.
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ByDan EmeryJul 15, 2024