Celtic moved 18 points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership table on Saturday after a convincing 4-1 win over Ross County away from Glasgow.
The Hoops, who could move back to 15 points clear if Rangers win their game in hand on Sunday, had failed to score in their previous two away matches, losing 3-0 to Rangers and drawing 0-0 with Dundee United.
However, two goals from Kyogo Furuhashi and stoppage time strikes from Arne Engels and Luke McCowan wrapped up all three points for the Scottish giants, as they rediscovered their goalscoring touch on their travels.
Goalscoring has been far from a major issue for Celtic over the course of the Premiership season, though, as the Hoops have fired in 61 goals in 22 matches.
No other team has scored more than 38 goals in the division and this speaks to how lethal and exciting Brendan Rodgers’ team have been in the Scottish top-flight this term.
Despite that, the Northern Irish head coach is reportedly still looking at potential additions to come in and bolster his attacking options ahead of the second half of the 2024/25 campaign.
Celtic in talks to sign new forward
According to Sky Sports journalist Anthony Joseph, Celtic are interested in a deal to sign Sarpsborg winger Sondre Ojrasaeter in the January transfer window, which opened for business almost two weeks ago.
The reporter reveals that the Hoops are in talks with the Norwegian outfit to discuss a potential transfer for the young forward, as Rodgers plots a move to land another option in the wide areas.
Joseph claims that the Premiership champions made contact with Sarpsborg early on in December and they have now progressed into talks over a deal to bring the attacker to Parkhead this month.
He adds, though, that there is also interest from clubs in France and Italy and that means that the Hoops could face some serious competition for his signature, if they go ahead with an official offer to land the 21-year-old starlet.
Joseph does not, however, reveal how much Sarpsborg are set to demand for the young gem, who is valued at around £5m by Transfermarkt, so it remains to be seen how viable a deal is for Celtic from a financial perspective.
Transfer Focus
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
The Bhoys should follow up on these talks to secure a swoop for the Norway U21 international, though, as he is an incredibly talented young player who could come in as a perfect signing for Kyogo, who just added two goals to his tally for the season on Saturday.
Kyogo Furuhashi's form this season
It has been far from a perfect season for the Japan international but you always know that the 29-year-old star is going to offer a threat at the top end of the pitch, whether that translates to goals or not.
The opening goal of the game against Ross County was Kyogo at his best. Alistair Johnston whipped a ball across the box and the Japanese forward was the first one there to prod it into the back of the net from close range, illustrating his movement and his instincts in front of goal.
He ended the match with two goals and two ‘big chances’ missed, which sort of sums up his season for Celtic. The Hoops number eight offers a decent goal threat but has often been wasteful with the high-quality opportunities that his teammates have created for him.
Appearances
21
Goals
10
Big chances missed
17
Big chances created
0
Assists
3
As you can see in the table above, Kyogo has missed seven more ‘big chances’ than he has scored goals in the Premiership, which shows that he has not made the most of the creativity that his teammates have provided him with.
That is further illustrated by his xG tally being 14.03 in the league this term, as it shows that he has underperformed his expected goal return by four strikes.
However, it does show that Kyogo consistently puts himself in positions to generate high-quality chances and get on the end of passes and crosses in the box, which is why the Japanese ace could be perfect for Orjasaeter.
What Sondre Orjasaeter could bring to Celtic
The Norway U21 international, who was nicknamed “the artist” by former Wolves star Håvard Flo, is a creative winger who has the quality to break opposition defences down to create big opportunities for his teammates at the top end of the pitch.
Daizen Maeda has been Celtic’s first-choice on the left flank for the majority of the season so far, starting 17 times in the Premiership, but creating chances is not his biggest strength on the wing.
The Japan international has created five ‘big chances’ in the league this term, after creating five in 28 league outings in the 2023/24 campaign, and this shows that the winger does not provide ‘big chances’ to his fellow forwards on a regular basis.
Whereas, Orjasaeter’s performances for Sarpsborg in the 2024 Eliteserien season suggest that he could come in to offer far more than Maeda as a creative presence in the final third.
In fact, scout Matthew Rowley recently described the £5m-rated star as a “creative” and “technical” player who could be effective at breaking down low blocks, which is backed up by his statistics from last year.
Appearances
28
Goals
5
Big chances created
12
Key passes
53
Assists
5
As you can see in the table above, Orjasaeter ended the campaign with a whopping 53 key passes and 12 ‘big chances’ created in his 28 league appearances, two more ‘big chances’ provided than Maeda has managed in the last two Premiership seasons combined.
These statistics suggest that the winger would be perfect for Kyogo because he can consistently break down opposition defences to create high-quality opportunities in front of goal.
Bigger deal than Engels: Rodgers plots Celtic move for Kuhn 2.0
Celtic are reportedly interested in the star who would cost more than Arne Engels did.
ByDan EmeryJan 10, 2025
This would provide the Japan international with even more chances to find the back of the net in the second half of the season, with his wasteful finishing at times this term suggesting that he needs even more creativity from those around him.
Therefore, this deal could make a lot of sense for Celtic and provide Rodgers with a different, and quality, option to Maeda in style on the left flank.