CELTIC have been monitoring Japanese striker Kanji Okunuki who is currently with Bundelsiga second-tier outfit Nuremberg.
Brendan Rodgers has identified another attack-leader as a priority signing during the January transfer window with his current options narrowed to Kyogo Furuhashi and Oh Hyeon-gyu with Daizen Maeda on stand-by.
Okunuki, who has called into his country’s senior national squad for the first time last month, is interesting the champions and a move could be made within two months, according to Sky Sports Germany.
ON THE BALL…Kanji Okunuki in action for Nuremberg.
The satellite broadcasters claim the Hoops are “interested” and have scouted the player “intensively in recent weeks”.
Okunuki, who can also play in a wide left role, is rated somewhere in the £650,000 bracket.
The 24-year-old frontman, who had a loan spell in Poland with Gornik Zabrze after leaving Japanese side Omiya Ardija in August last year, has scored four goals in 15 appearances for the German club.
Okunuki could become the SIXTH Japanese player to join up at Parkhead in two and a half years with Kyogo leading the way following his £4.6million move from J-League Vissel Kobe in late July 2021.
Hatate, Maeda and Yosuke Ideguchi, currently on loan at his homeland club Avispa Fukuoka until the end of January, arrived in a triple deal six months later with Tomoki Iwata and Yuki Kobayashi joining the following season.
