Celtic: champions of Scotland again.
On Saturday, the Hoops demolished Dundee United 5-0 at Tannadice, Nicolas Kühn and Adam Idah both bagging braces, as they secured a fourth successive Scottish Premiership title, and a 13th in only 14 seasons.
So now, even with an Old Firm to come on Sunday, Brendan Rodgers’ focus has already, somewhat, turned towards summer plans, so could he snap up a “quality” new wide-forward?
Celtic's winger target
According to a report by Bréhima Diakité of Africa Foot earlier this month, Celtic are ‘monitoring’ Ajaccio winger Moussa Soumano, with Brentford, Leicester City, Leeds United and Atalanta amongst those also interested.
Soumano is just 19-years-old, his 20th birthday is coming up this summer, and he plays for Ajaccio in Ligue 2, scoring four goals and providing two assists for L’ours this season, with the Corsica-based club down in 13th, despite being in France’s top-flight as recently as two seasons ago.
Thus, could Ajaccio be forced to sell their most-prized asset?
How Soumano compares to Celtic's current forwards
Scout Mathieu Duhamel describes Soumano as a “quality” winger, adding that he is “capable of dribbling” with both feet and is a “promising player” who “should leave Ajaccio this summer” in order to “take a step forward” in his development.
Avradeep Mukherjee of Sports Illustrated believes Soumano would be a ‘valuable’ squad member for Rodgers, considering he can play both out wide and as a centre-forward, while the original report notes that he is valued at around €3m (£2.5m).
So how does he compare to Celtic’s current forward options? Well, he’s unlikely to usurp Daizen Maeda in the depth chart, considering the Japanese forward has now scored 33 goals this season.
With four Premiership matches remaining, followed by the Scottish Cup Final against Aberdeen, Maeda is still on course to break a few records, as the table below highlights.
John Hartson
2004/05
30
Scott McDonald
2007/08
31
Gary Hooper
2011/12
29
Gary Hooper
2012/13
31
Kris Commons
2013/14
32
Leigh Griffiths
2015/16
40
Moussa Dembélé
2016/17
32
Scott Sinclair
2016/17
25
Odsonne Édouard
2019/20
29**
Kyōgo Furuhashi
2022/23
34
Daizen Maeda
2024/25
33*
As shown in the table, since Henrik Larsson’s 41-goal haul in 2003/04, only Leigh Griffiths nine years ago has broken the 40-goal mark in a single Celtic season, with Maeda requiring seven goals from the final five fixtures to match this; it’s very possible.
However, Maeda aside, the other two positions in Celtic’s attack are very much up for grabs.
Kyōgo Furuhashi was sold to Stade Rennais for £10m in January, while Jota, who rejoined the club from Rennes in the winter, is set to spend the next few months on the sidelines, after suffering a knee injury against Dundee United on Saturday, joining in the post-match celebrations at Tannadice on crutches.
Meantime, Kühn’s form has fallen off a cliff since the turn of the year, Yang Hyun-jun, who’s currently sidelined, is very hit-and-miss, while Adam Idah is also yet to establish himself as a regular starter.
Thus, these positions in Celtic’s attack are certainly up for grabs, and Soumano certainly appears to have the talent to come in and stake a claim.
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Similar to Maeda, as already alluded to, Soumano is comfortable playing both as a striker and a winger, while his £2.5m valuation would be a bargain, just as the Japanese forward was, arriving from Yokohama F. Marinos for a reported £1.5m back in January 2022.
That deal has proven to be a masterstroke for those at Parkhead – perhaps this could be the next transfer coup?
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