Celtic tipped to sign £4 million player in January window

Celtic might have signed nine players in the summer transfer window, but the Hoops are expected to be pretty active in January as well. On one hand, there are a few positions in this current squad where they still need to improve. On the other hand, it feels like there are quite a few who are not in Brendan Rodgers’ plans and might be heading out soon.

One position where the club might need to strengthen urgently is striker. Kyogo and Oh Hyeon-gyu could both head for the AFC Asian Cup in January if picked by their national teams.

That would leave Celtic without a striker. And in that scenario, the club would have to dip into the transfer market to strengthen their options up top.

Interestingly, there have been rumours in Italy that Celtic have made first enquiries about Sydney van Hooijdonk. The Dutch striker is struggling for playing time with Bologna and it is believed that manager Thiago Motta is open to the prospect of him leaving on loan in the January window.

Celtic tipped to sign £4 million player in January window

As reported by TBR Football, Mark Guidi said on The Go Radio Football Show:

"“He’s been linked with Celtic for three years on and off. But it seems to be that he is a bit frustrated at a lack of game time and not starting in many games.“And considering that there’s no doubt Celtic’s in the market for a striker, could that be one that’s permanent?“It might suit all parties a loan deal in January with a view to making it permanent, I’m not so sure.“Obviously his dad being who he was and his dad was terrific for Celtic too. So yeah, that could be one that certainly would be on the radar.”"

Van Hooijdonk might not be getting much playing time at Bologna but there is no doubt that he is a very good talent and could make a difference for Celtic up top. He spent the previous season out on loan at Heerenveen and scored 19 goals across all competitions. So, he certainly knows his way to the back of the net.

There is a pre-existing Celtic connection as well. His father, Pierre van Hooijdonk, played for the Hoops back in the 1990s and he was an excellent striker in his own right. He scored more than 50 goals in his two-and-a-half seasons at Parkhead and represented the Netherlands national team on a regular basis as well.