Brendan Rodgers has dropped a hint towards Celtic’s summer transfer plans.
The Celtic manager usually keeps his cards close to his chest to avoid any nasty surprises like the one fans learned back in January when a striker was not bought to replace Kyogo.
Supporters were frustrated with a lack of movement in the window but Daizen Maeda has fit into the lone striker role perfectly and hit 30 goals this season alone.
For Rodgers, Maeda has been a revelation this term and vindicated the decision to move him from his traditional left-side to a striker spot.
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Daizen Maeda’s Celtic versatility may stop Rodgers’ striker search
And now the Irishman has claimed Maeda can play that role so well that he is more likely to find a new winger to accommodate the switch than he is a striker who would likely cost more cash.
He said: “I think he (Daizen Maeda) can be (the main striker),” Rodgers told Celtic TV.
“I think it’s one where if we were to move him back on to the side and take him out of the middle, with all due respect it’s probably easier for us to bring in a top winger than it would be a top striker.
“But he can clearly play the position and I am so happy that he can.”
Brendan Rodgers is already looking for a new Celtic winger
Maeda and Adam Idah have been competing this season for the one spot through the middle and it’s the Japanese attacker who has won out in that battle more often than not.
Idah is a £9.5million forward, though, and a good option to have on the bench.
Rodgers’ admission, though, suggests that long-term target Mathias Kvistgaarden won’t be brought in, nor will David Strelec who wants to leave Slovan Bratislava.
And news which surfaced early yesterday morning linking Celtic again with Michel Ange Balikwisha only strengthens the idea that Rodgers sees a wide player more as a priority than a new frontman.
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