THE doomsayers are once again fidgeting with the worry beads as Celtic come out of the transfer window with an admittedly mystifying omission of a dependable replacement for Kyogo Furuhashi.
I hold my hands up and confess I am as puzzled as anyone Brendan Rodgers did not produce an ace with a ready-made successor for the talismanic Japanese frontman who was spirited off to Rennes in a £10million move last week.
Maybe good fiscal business by the Hoops hierarchy for a 30-year-old player who scored 85 goals in his three and a half years at the champions following his £4.6million arrival from J-League outfit Vissel Kobe in July 2021.
However, there could be a massive backfire if Adam Idah has an alarming dip in form or is injured for any length of time.
There is little to suggest Johnny Kenny could provide an instant answer. Hopefully, the young Irishman’s day will come, but it won’t be in this campaign.
The powers of Nostradamus are not required to make this observation.
THE THINKER…Brendan Rodgers has lots to ponder for the reaminder of the season.
The names of Jamie Vardy and Danny Ings were mentioned. At the combined age of 70 for the Leicester City and West Ham veterans – both known to Rodgers, of course – I think not.
Okay, Daizen Maeda can take a step in from the left wing to lead the attack, as he does for the Japanese international team, but that would be a compromise situation and not anything anyone would welcome in the long term.
Unquestionably, his best position is on the flank where he can accept a pass, switch on the afterburners and immediately get the opposition turning and facing their own goal.
Rodgers did warn early yesterday – as CQN reported – that the champions could be stymied in a move for a new attack-leader, someone with the capabilities to take the pivotal role and share the duties as the main man.
These guys don’t come cheap and I don’t think anyone was impressed when the valuation of Brondby’s Mathias Kvistgaarden soared from £8million in the summer to £14million inside seven months.
Rodgers had previously reassured us all that it was his aim to make the squad stronger coming out of the transfer window than when the club went into it.
Clearly, that is not the case. As well as Kyogo, the Parkhead club have parted company on a permanent basis with left-backs Alexandro Bernabei and Barcelona loanee Alex Valle while loaning out Luis Palma, Odin Holm and Stephen Welsh.
ON THE RUN…Kyogo Furuhashi quit the Hoops for France.
In the opposite direction, we have Filipe Jota being welcomed back to the fold on a five-and-a-half year contract and Crystal Palace defender Jeffrey Schlupp on a temporary deal until the end of the season while, of course, we will have to wait until the summer to get a second glimpse of Kieran Tierney in his spiritual home.
To the tired old eyes of your humble scribe, that represents an imbalance.
Let’s get one thing straight, dear reader. Celtic did not sell Kyogo without the green light from their manager. Members of the board in the bad old days indulged in all sorts of wheeling and dealing behind their manager’s back, but that is most certainly NOT the case today, I can absolutely assure you of that.
That is why I am so confounded the signing of another hitman had not been previously done and dusted and in place to allow the new Bhoy to be paraded with all the attendant razzmatazz on deadline day.
It gives the whole place a lift at a crucial stage of the campaign. However, there was no trumpet blowing or dazzling spotlights to be seen around the east end of Glasgow at 11pm on this occasion.
We’ll have to live with it.
TEARS AND CHEERS…an emotional Filipe Jota after scoring his comeback goal at Motherwell.
Rodgers flagged up caution as the minutes ticked down to the deadline last night and stated he may have to settle on a loan deal to ease anxiety over the striker situation.
“I don’t want to bring in anyone just for the sake of it,” said the Irishman. “There’s no point in bringing in someone if they’re not the right fit.”
Makes sense, I suppose.
But it opens the door to some fevered, irrational and illogical criticism where scatterguns are employed to fire out repetitive and tiresome observations at the perceived lack of ambition within the corridors of power at Celtic Park.
Please let’s put the situation into perspective.
Celtic WILL beat Dundee tomorrow night, go thirteen points ahead at the Premiership pinnacle and WILL go onto win their fourth successive title, their thirteenth flag in 14 years and their 55th crown in their celebrated history.
With 13 league games to play – and 39 points to be collected – there is no way the champions will fail.
Equally, there is no chance of their main opposition producing the quality and consistency to make up that differential in points or the gulf of 23 goals with at least one more strike to be added tomorrow evening.
Brendan could bring back Chris Sutton to lead the attack and it will not interfere with the inevitable conclusion to this term’s one-sided race for the top prize.
Before anyone reaches for the Valium, please note that wingers Maeda and Nicolas Kuhn, with 16 strikes apiece, have contributed a healthy 32 goals this time around in all competitions.
ONE DOWN, TWO TO GO…Daizen Maeda, scorer of the deciding penalty-kick, proudly holds aloft the Premier Sports League Cup after the victory over Rangers at Hampden in December.
Idah has collected 11 counters while 26 have been shared among four midfielders – Callum McGregor, Reo Hatate, Arne Engels and Luke McCowan – and you can be sure Jota, who got the ball rolling with the final effort in the 3-1 win over Motherwell at the weekend – will also contribute as the crusade cascades assuredly towards the silverware presentation in May.
The Scottish Cup could also be on its way to complete yet another treble, but it’s a trophy where its destination can often be determined by the bounce of the ball, a moment of individual inspiration, a fluke goal, a questionable refereeing decision – on and off the field – the luck of the draw or even a penalty-kick shoot-out, as was the case in the semi-final against Aberdeen last season.
The European adventure will come to an end against Bayern Munich this month. Alas, I can’t envisage any other outcome.
So, that leaves a minefield of possibly 18 games in the Premiership, Scottish Cup and the Champions League for Rodgers to confront as he attempts to manoeuvre his team towards a successful domestic terminus at Hampden on May 24.
Next season? That’s an entirely different ball-game. We can discuss that challenge once we have passed around the cigars and champagne in another summer of celebration.
Keep the faith, folks!
ALEX GORDON