It is no secret that Celtic are in search of a striker this month, especially with the long-term future of Giorgos Giakoumakis appearing to lie away from Parkhead, as it looks like he is set to leave the club. The Hoops find themselves in a sticky situation though. For weeks, they were linked with a move for Cho Gue-sung of Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors but now, it looks like the player is set to remain in South Korea.
Celtic have gotten most of their targets in recent times but now, they will have to look towards Plan B. Of course, that is always not a bad thing and people will remember the Riley McGree saga from last January, which led to the signing of Matt O’Riley.
Yet, one of the players now being linked with Celtic is not one that most fans would have expected the club to target.
As reported by Sponichi (via Daily Record), Thiago Santana is next on Ange Postecoglou’s wishlist this month.
Celtic linked with surprise move for Brazilian striker as Cho transfer chase leads nowhere
Santana has been in top form in recent times and is coming off of a great individual season in the J League with Shimizu S-Pulse.
Celtic have made it a habit to sign some of the best players from the Japanese top flight since the arrival of Postecoglou as manager so in that sense, the interest will come as no surprise.
The surprising part is that Santana is already 29 years of age, and the Hoops have not really made moves for players in their late 20s in recent times.
Of course, if he fits the profile of a player who can make an immediate impact in this Celtic team then it should not be a barrier to a move. Santana already has experience of European football, having played in Portugal in the past.