Celtic are fighting it out to secure the Scottish Premiership title for a third season in succession as they currently sit one point clear at the top of the table.

The Hoops travel away from Parkhead to take on their closest rivals in the division, who also have a game in hand over Brendan Rodgers’ side, on Sunday, and could either move four points clear or drop down to second.

Having been knocked out of the League Cup and all European competitions during the first half of the season, Celtic only have two more chances – the Premiership and the SFA Cup – to lift silverware before the end of the campaign.

The Scottish giants have not been at their best in the league this term, with five draws and three defeats already, and they reportedly already have one eye on the summer transfer window with a view to improving the quality within the current playing squad.

Celtic interest in English Championship star

It was recently reported by Football Insider that the Hoops are interested in a possible deal to sign Blackburn Rovers sensation Sammie Szmodics.

At the end of last month, the outlet claimed that Celtic and Premier League side Brentford are both set to battle it out to land the Republic of Ireland international ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.

The report also stated that other teams from the bottom half of the top division of English football could be in the race to land his signature in the upcoming transfer window.

Football Insider then posted an update at the start of April that claimed that Celtic will find it incredibly difficult to get a deal done for the forward, due to the financial advantage the teams in the Premier League have over them in regards to a transfer fee and wages.

The update added that Blackburn will find it hard to keep hold of their star forward, due to the interest in his services, but did not reveal how much it would take to get a move over the line in the summer.

There is, however, no guarantee that the interested teams from the Premier League make a concrete move for him, and this means that there is still a chance that the Hoops could swoop in to get a deal done if an opportunity arises over the coming months.

Rodgers could, if Celtic do snap up the Rovers star, land a dream upgrade on faltering forward Kyogo Furuhashi, who has struggled at times this season.

Kyogo Furuhashi’s struggles this season

The Japan international came into the current campaign off the back of a sensational return of 27 goals in 31 Premiership starts under Ange Postecoglou last term.

He earned the PFA Scotland Men’s Player of the Year award for his efforts throughout the season, which speaks to how impressive the former Vissel Kobe gem was for the Hoops.

Celtic may have hoped that his prolific scoring would have carried over into Rodgers’ second tenure at Parkhead, but that has not been the case.

As you can see in the table above, Kyogo’s form in front of goal has dropped off a cliff as the Japanese forward has been far more wasteful with the chances that have come his way – with four more ‘big chances’ missed in five fewer appearances so far.

In fact, the 29-year-old striker has scored ten goals from an Expected Goals (xG) of 14.21. No player within the Hoops squad has underperformed their xG by as much as Kyogo (-4.21), with Daizen Maeda’s underperformance of -3.69 the second worst.

This shows that the experienced number nine has received plenty of service in the box this season but has not done enough with the quality chances that have been created for him by the likes of Luis Palma, Matt O’Riley, Alistair Johnston, and others.

Along with his wasteful finishing, the 5 foot 7 forward does not offer much in the way of a physical presence as he has lost 61% of his duels and only won 1.5 per game on average, which means that the attacker does not make up for his attacking struggles with strong hold-up play.

Why Sammie Szmodics could be a Kyogo Furuhashi upgrade

Like the Japan international, Szmodics, who stands at 5 foot 6, is not a traditional – tall and strong – number nine who is going to hold the ball up and bring others into play.

The 28-year-old star is a versatile forward, who has been deployed as a striker and as an attacking midfielder at times this season, who could either lead the line or play behind 6 foot 3 Adam Idah, should he also sign for Celtic on a permanent basis, as Kyogo has this year.

This would make him a dream signing to take the former Premiership Player of the Year’s place, as he can be deployed in multiple positions across the frontline.

Blackburn’s star attacker has lost 58% of his duels and only won 2.5 per match on average, which shows that he is similar to the current Hoops marksman in that respect, as they both struggle with the physical side of the game.

When it comes to scoring goals and finishing chances, however, there is one clear winner between the two throughout the 2023/24 campaign so far, which shows why Celtic could land an upgrade on their current marksman.

As you can see in the table above, Szmodics has been on fire in front of goal as a scorer in the English Championship for Rovers this season, with 13 more goals and six fewer big chances missed in comparison to Kyogo.

The Irish sensation, who has scored 29 goals in all competitions for his club this season, has found the back of the net 23 times from xG of 17.9 in the second tier.

This means that the 28-year-old star, who journalist Josh Bunting claimed is “dangerous” at finding space in the box, has outperformed his xG by 5.1, whilst no Celtic player has outperformed their xG by more than 1.74 so far this season in the Premiership.

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