Celtic could be looking to sign a new centre-forward during the summer transfer window, which opened last week.
First, Hyeon-gyu Oh has been linked with a £4 million bid from Belgian giants Genk, and he might leave Parkhead after being the third-choice number nine in the second half of the season.
The South Korean international struggled for minutes because Brendan Rodgers preferred Kyogo Furuhashi and Adam Idah ahead of him in the pecking order.
According to Football Insider, the Hoops are willing to sell Kyogo if a bid of approximately £25 million is made this summer.
Despite reports that the club’s only two senior centre-forward options may be on their way out of Glasgow, the Bhoys are thought to be interested in a permanent deal to bring Idah back to Paradise following his loan spell from Norwich City earlier this year.
The Scottish giants have now been linked with another striker who could come in to add more firepower to the squad and thrive alongside attacking midfielder Matt O’Riley.
Celtic is interested in an in-demand marksman
According to Portuguese newspaper O Jogo (18/06/24), as supplied by Sport Witness, the Hoops are among several teams interested in signing Panathinaikos centre-forward Fotis Ioannidis this summer.
According to the report, the Bhoys are in talks to sign the Greek international to challenge for the starting number nine position at Parkhead next season.
It claims that the Scottish Premiership champions are’serious’ competition for other teams looking to sign the excellent marksman in the coming weeks.
O Jogo adds that Girona, Lazio, Sevilla, Ipswich Town, Sporting, and Lille are all interested in signing Ioannidis, demonstrating how difficult it will be for Rodgers to secure a deal for him.
According to the source, Panathiniakos is looking to get up to €30 million (£25 million) for their great finisher, while Sporting is willing to pay €20 million (£16.8 million) to get him to Portugal.
Celtic’s current club record signing is Odsonne Edouard, who cost £9 million to join from PSG in the summer of 2018, making a £25 million move for the Greek dynamo appear implausible.
However, if no teams are willing to pay the £25 million estimate, the Super League club may be compelled to lower it, perhaps bringing the Bhoys back into the picture financially.
If they can find a method to bring him to Parkhead, he would be an ideal player for O’Riley to play alongside in the 2024/25 season.
Matt O’Riley: A Striker’s Dream
Firstly, the Hoops must ensure that they can keep hold of the Denmark international before the window slams shut amid interest from elsewhere.
Atletico Madrid is apparently interested in adding the central midfielder to Diego Simeone’s squad and has been advised that securing his services would cost them €40 million (£33 million), but they are only willing to spend €20 million (£15.8 million) at this time.
It’s easy to see why Celtic value him so highly after his amazing season in the Premiership last season under Rodgers’ direction.
The Danish genius proved to be a striker’s dream, thanks to his ability to regularly finish opportunities and his relentless stream of inventiveness in the middle of the park.
He had only produced three goals in 38 league games in Ange Postecoglou’s final year at Parkhead and Rodgers’ arrival in 2023 helped to unlock his goalscoring potential.
His statistics reveal that the left-footed maestro would be an ideal striker owing to his exceptional ability to regularly unlock opposing defences to generate chances for his teammates, perhaps providing the attacker with numerous opportunities to score.
Why should Celtic sign Fotis Ioannidis?
Ioannidis would also be an ideal signing for O’Riley since he is an efficient finisher who can capitalise on opportunities created by the midfielder, as well as a centre-forward who can create for others.
The 24-year-old marksman, rated as “complete” by analyst Ben Mattinson, assisted seven times and created eight ‘big opportunities’ in 27 Super League games last season.
No Celtic striker had as many assists or ‘big chances’ produced in the Premiership, implying that more high-quality opportunities might be created for O’Riley to add more goals to his game next season if the Greek ace leads the line for Celtic.
Alongside his creative skills, Ioannidis is also a ruthless finisher who has the potential to be far more effective in front of goal than Kyogo for the Hoops.