Celtic are reportedly interested in free agent striker Tobias Lauritsen.
The 28-year-old striker is available for nothing after letting his contract expire at Sparta Rotterdam, where he was a key player.
Martin O’Neill could do with several strikers this summer; Daizen Maeda is expected to leave Celtic in the coming weeks, whilst Tomas Cvancara and Junior Adamu will not remain at the club after their loans.
Camilo Duran is also being pursued by Celtic, but Lauritsen offers a different profile.
Daizen Maeda: irreplaceable?
How can Celtic move on from him this summer?
Celtic, Sampdoria and Leicester City in race for Tobias Lauritsen
According to Liguria-based Italian outlet Il Secolo XIX, Lauritsen is on the shortlist at Celtic and Leicester this summer, though he is actively being pursued by Sampdoria.
Samp sporting director Americo Branco is at work on the deal, making the Italian side the frontrunners.
READ MORE: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain agrees new Celtic contract, commits to Martin O’Neill
Lauritsen is a towering presence at 6 ft 4 in tall, and would offer O’Neill something different in his Celtic attack.
He has hit double-digits in each of the last four Eredivisie seasons with Sparta, and is uncapped by Norway.
Celtic would, in theory, be a more appealing option than the other two interested parties – Leicester are newly-relegated to League One, whilst Sampdoria finished 14th in Serie B last season.
Lauritsen’s aerial duel numbers have consistently ranked among the highest in Europe. If the ball’s in the air, he’s your man.
The Eredivisie is a market used previously by Celtic for strikers, most recently in the form of Giorgios Giakoumakis, who wasn’t bad in the air himself.
Lauritsen’s goalscoring numbers aren’t quite as standout, but as O’Neill hints at taking the team in a different direction, this signing could facilitate that.
📝 The Ox extends!
Have Celtic made the right call?
Martin O’Neill on a new Celtic approach
Speaking to Celtic TV last week, O’Neill said: “I’ve said to you about managing in a different fashion to the way I used to do years ago — I think I can marry them both in many aspects.
“By that I mean: have us play in the manner of which — I bet you think ‘he’s just delving into the past here, actually nobody cares’ — but I thought the side 25 years ago played very quickly, played with a dash, with a lot of very fine players.
“I think we can marry them both. I think we can have possession of the ball, obviously, it’s great to keep it. But I’d like us to keep it for a purpose.
“Pre-season gives you all these thoughts of: ‘Yeah, we can change little things here and there’, which I think we probably can do, and I think the players can take to it.”
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
