Jota's long-term injury means that Celtic have been weakened on the wing. The Portuguese ace might not return to action in 2025. Even if he does, it will be late in the year and a significant portion of the 25/26 season will have been played already. That is not the end though. Nicolas Kuhn continues to be linked with a move away and is believed to be Brentford's first-choice to replace Bryan Mbeumo, who is on the radar of both Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.
Celtic have been linked with a few wingers in recent months. Sondre Orjasaeter of Sarpsborg 08 and Michel-Ange Balikwisha of Royal Antwerp are two names that come to mind immediately. That being said, it looks like the club are no opposed to the idea of adding a bit of South American flair to the wing.
As reported by Studio Futbol, Celtic made a formal offer to sign Nilson Angulo. It was deemed insufficient by Anderlecht but despite the initial rejection, it has not been ruled out that the Scottish club or another team could make another attempt for the Ecuadorian international.
Angulo joined Anderlecht in 2022 and is finally starting to find his feet with the Belgian side. On the other hand, he has already made three appearances for the Ecuador national team at 21 years of age.
Celtic quietly submit bid for Ecuador international
Angulo's stats are not particularly eye-catching. In 44 appearances, he scored 4 goals and provided 4 assists.
It is worth mentioning though that he spent most of the season playing the role of an option to bring off the bench. It was only late in the campaign that he started to get consistent starts for Anderlecht. Overall, he played 1893 minutes of football.
It remains to be seen if Celtic do make a second offer for Angulo. It does show though that the club have the ability to move in silence and just because we are not hearing too many names does not mean that work is not being done behind the scenes.