Celtic have enjoyed a strong start to the 2024/25 campaign with three wins in three matches in all competitions, the latest of which was a 3-1 win over Hibernian in the League Cup.
The Hoops were knocked out of the competition at that stage last season but goals from Daizen Maeda (two) and Nicolas Kuhn secured the win for Brendan Rodgers.
Two wins in two games in the Scottish Premiership so far also has the reigning champions top of the table in the early stages, despite the lack of transfer activity from the Bhoys.
Rodgers has only added four players to his squad – Viljami Sinisalo, Kasper Schmeichel, Paulo Bernardo, and Adam Idah – and two of those were on loan at Parkhead last term.
Idah is the most recent addition to the playing squad after his £9.5m move from Norwich City was confirmed last week, with an £8.5m rising to £9.5m deal agreed for his services.
The Ireland international spent the second half of last season on loan in Glasgow, though, and Hyeon-gyu Oh – who was part of the squad at the same time – has since moved on.
Celtic's Hyeon-gyu Oh masterclass
In January of 2023, Ange Postecoglou swooped to sign the South Korea international from Suwon Bluewings for a reported fee of £2.5m to bolster his attacking options, as Giorgos Giakoumakis was set to move to the MLS with Atlanta United.
The young marksman enjoyed a decent first five months in Scottish football with a return of six goals in 16 Premiership appearances during the second half of the 2022/23 campaign.
After that promising start to life in Glasgow, the hope should have been for Oh to kick on and become a reliable performer for the Hoops in his first full season with the club.
However, the 23-year-old struggled to step up under Rodgers, who replaced Postecoglou last summer, and did not improve on his six-goal return from the previous campaign.
Instead, the Northern Irish boss opted to bring Idah in during the winter window and that left Oh as the third-choice behind the Irishman and Kyogo Furuhashi in the pecking order.
Appearances
20
Goals
5
Big chances missed
5
Assists
0
Big chances created
0
Key passes per game
0.3
As you can see in the table above, the right-footed attacker was handed 20 appearances in the division to stake a claim for his place and found the back of the net five times, but failed to provide much in the way of creativity for his teammates.
Despite his struggles on the pitch for the Scottish giants, Celtic played a masterclass with Oh as they managed to sell him on for a decent profit this summer.
Belgian side Genk swooped in to sign the 23-year-old striker for a reported fee of £4.5m – £2m more than the Hoops paid Suwon Bluewings for his services 18 months prior.
Celtic could now brilliantly replace Oh as a third-choice centre-forward by signing a player they are reportedly considering a move for this month.
Celtic interested in free agent marksman
According to Football Scotland, the Premiership champions are one of a number of clubs keeping an eye on free agent centre-forward Aaron Connolly.
The Ireland international is currently without a club, having left Hull City at the end of last season, and this means that they would not have to pay a penny in transfer fees to snap him up.
Football Scotland claims that the Bhoys are monitoring his situation and considering whether or not to make a move for the former Brighton & Hove Albion attacker.
Connolly, who was hailed as "improving" by journalist Josh Bunting last season, had attracted interest from the MLS but their transfer window has now closed.
The report does not reveal who else is interested in signing the 24-year-old striker, though, and so it remains to be seen how difficult it will be to complete a deal for him.
However, Rodgers must now push to land the talented attacker on a bargain free transfer before the end of the window in order to brilliantly replace Oh as the third-choice striker at Parkhead.
Why Celtic should sign Aaron Connolly
Firstly, it would be a bargain move for the Scottish giants because he is a free agent. The club raked in £4.5m for Oh and could potentially replace him with a better player who is also only one year older than the South Korean gem, at 24.
Another thing that Connolly immediately has over the Genk striker is that he is a versatile forward who can play in a multitude of roles for Rodgers.
He has played on both flanks, as a second striker, and as an attacking midfielder in his career, which means that the manager could select him on the flank either side of Idah or Kyogo, or in the number ten position behind them.
So, while he may come in as a third-choice striker on paper that does not mean that his minutes will be heavily restricted, as the 24-year-old star can play in several positions.
His form for Hull City in the 2023/24 campaign also suggests that Connolly does not need to start games on a regular basis to make an impact.
Appearances
28
Starts
13
Goals
8
xG
6.62
Conversion rate
20%
As you can see in the table above, the Ireland international struck eight times in the Championship despite only starting 13 of his 28 appearances.
This suggests that he is comfortable with a back-up role and has the right mentality to affect matches from the bench, which would make him an ideal signing for Celtic as a rotation option.
The Irish striker, who scored 31 goals in 42 matches for Brighton at U23 level earlier in his career, showcased his clinical nature in front of goal with eight goals from 6.62 xG.
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This shows that he can also make the most of the chances that are created for him and that is another reason why he could brilliantly replace Oh, who struggled in front of goal for the Hoops.