Celtic lost their first-choice number nine in the January transfer window at the start of the year when they opted to sell Kyogo Furuhashi to Ligue 1 side Rennes.
The Hoops cashed in on the Japan international and went with Adam Idah, Johnny Kenny, and Daizen Maeda as their number nine options, instead of swooping for a replacement in the window.
Brendan Rodgers is seemingly in the market to sign a new number nine ahead of next season, though, as it was recently reported that the club are expected to make a new move for Brondby striker Mathias Kvistgarden.
Why Celtic want to sign Mathias Kvistgaarden
The Denmark youth international is a long-term target for Celtic, who wanted to sign him in January and remain keen ahead of the summer, and that is because he has been in terrific form for his club.
Kvistgaarden scored 23 goals in all competitions for Brondby in the 2024/25 campaign, which included a return of 17 goals in the Danish Superliga, and scored ten goals in 28 matches the previous season.
As you can see in the post from talent scout Jacek Kulig below, which was last month, the 23-year-old attacker has improved year-on-year with his current team.
The Danish marksman is a striker who is on the up and coming off the back of an impressive season, which is why he would be an attractive target for the Scottish giants heading into the summer window.
However, it has also been reported that Brondby are sticking to their valuation of at least £10m for the attacker. This means that the Hoops would have to splash the cash to bring him to Parkhead to bolster their attacking options.
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With this in mind, Celtic could look elsewhere to find more value for money, and they could find it by signing reported target Youssef El Kachati.
Why Celtic should sign Youssef El Kachati
The Daily Mail reported earlier this month that the Scottish Premiership champions are tracking the Telstar forward as a potential free agent signing, as his contract with the Dutch club is due to expire.
El Kachati, who is due to play in the play-off final for Telstar this evening, has scored 23 goals and provided six assists in all competitions for his team this season, matching Kvistgaarden’s return.
The 25-year-old attacker, who played for Morocco at U23 level, has scored 82 goals in 189 matches throughout his career in Dutch football, which shows that he has been a consistent scorer throughout his time at first-team and academy level.
His form in the 2024/25 campaign also suggests that the potential is there for him to be an even better signing than Kvistgaarden if he can translate his form over to Scottish football as a bargain free agent addition.
Appearances
29
37
Goals
17
19
Big chances missed
17
12
Big chances created
5
6
Assists
5
5
Dribbles completed per game
0.7
1.0
As you can see in the table above, the Dutch-born forward has a more impressive ‘big chance’ conversion rate, scoring two more goals whilst missing five fewer ‘big chances’.
This suggests that El Kachati, described as a “sensation” by journalist Mounir Boualin, has the potential to deliver more effective performances in front of goal in a Celtic shirt as a finisher.
The Telstar marksman has also added three goals in four play-off matches on top of those 19 goals during the regular season, taking his league tally to 22 in total – five more than Kvistgaarden managed for Brondby.
With this in mind, the potential is there for Celtic to land an even better signing than the Danish attacker, valued at £10m, by swooping for this bargain free agent star who has been incredibly prolific in the Dutch second tier.
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