Mathias Kvistgaarden and how close Brondby striker came to Celtic January move

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Mathias Kvistgaarden has been a Celtic target for some time.

The Brondby striker has only improved since Celts initially scouted him in Denmark and his goal scoring tally has always been steady for his club.

Brendan Rodgers is a fan of the 22-year-old forward and had his recruitment staff take another look at Kvistgaarden back in November as they considered a January swoop.

According to club chairman Jan Bech Andersen, Celtic launched an ambitious effort to land the player back on deadline day but it was rejected as the valuation wasn’t nearly met by the club.

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Brondby chairman claims Kvistgaarden bids were rejected amid Celtic interest

And now the prolific hitman looks destined to make a big-money move away from Brondby in the summer after they succeeded in their mission and held out against selling him until the right moment.

Andersen said, via the Daily Record: “Yes, we turned down offers – concrete ones and less concrete ones. There were never any numbers that made us deviate from our plan not to sell him in this transfer window.

“They weren’t good enough, but hopefully it will be when the time is right for him and the club. It was 100 per cent a goal for us to keep him for the rest of the season. There have been many enquiries about him – on the last day and the penultimate day of the transfer window.

“But we have a good dialogue with Kvistgaarden and his agent about what we are trying to achieve together.

“And the plan was for him to play for us in the spring, when we have many big goals to achieve and then we have to see what happens in the summer.”

Other strikers Celtic are interested in

Celtic boss Rodgers wants firepower to add to his squad this summer even though Daizen Maeda has hit the incredible 30 goal tally for the campaign as a makeshift lone striker.

Loan offers were made in January to bolster the frontline but ultimately Kyogo would not be properly replaced.

There has been talk of a stunning Kyogo Celtic return but the pundits who brought it up have been left divided on the topic.

Kelechi Iheanacho was a loan target from Sevilla while David Strelec was an option for Celtic on a permanent switch before a decision was made not to pursue.