It was no secret that Celtic were in the market to sign a new number nine in the recent January transfer window after they allowed Kyogo Furuhashi to join Rennes on a permanent deal.
The Hoops sold the Japan international and left themselves with Adam Idah as their only senior, recognised, number nine option heading into the second half of the season.
Celtic’s Irish marksman got on the scoresheet in the 6-0 win over Dundee in the Scottish Premiership at Parkhead on Wednesday night, but it remains to be seen how well they will fare if he were to get injured for a period of time.
Celtic’s deadline day business
The Bhoys had been in talks with Brondby over a deal to sign Denmark U21 international centre-forward Mathias Kvistgaarden on a permanent deal to replace Kyogo.
However, those talks broke down over a difference in valuation of the 22-year-old striker, who was rated at a whopping £10m by the Superliga side.
Celtic were then linked with a last-gasp swoop for West Ham United forward Danny Ings, who had worked with Brendan Rodgers at Liverpool, on deadline day, but nothing materalised with the former England international.
Peter Lawwell, ultimately, failed to bring in a striker to replace Kyogo and, understandably, that could be viewed as a disaster in some quarters, given that it has left Idah to carry a lot of responsibility.
However, he did manage to strike a deal to sign Jeffrey Schlupp on loan from Premier League side Crystal Palace, and his performance on Wednesday suggests that the deadline day business may not have been a disaster after all.
Jeffrey Schlupp’s performance against Dundee
The Ghana international arrived at Parkhead as a versatile option to fill several different positions, as he can play in midfield, on the left wing, or at left-back.
There may have been some concerns over what he would bring to the field after he made just 12 appearances as a substitute, failing to register a goal or an assist and losing 57% of his duels, in the Premier League during the first half of the season.
However, the former Leicester City star’s performance off the bench against Dundee suggests that he will bring plenty of quality and strength to the team in the second half of this season.
|
Jeffrey Schlupp |
Vs Dundee |
|---|---|
|
Minutes |
18 |
|
Touches |
46 |
|
Dribble success rate |
100% (1/1) |
|
Duel success rate |
86% (6/7) |
|
Tackles won |
2 |
|
Dribbled past |
0x |
As you can see in the table above, Schlupp produced a dominant display after coming on to replace Greg Taylor at left-back for the Hoops on Wednesday.
Taylor only won two duels and failed to make any tackles in his 72 minutes on the field, which speaks to just how impressive the Palace loanee’s performance was.
He fit like a glove in Rodgers’ Celtic team and appears to be a player who is ready to hit the ground running to contribute to a successful second half of the season.
This means that the deadline day business from Lawwell may not have been a disaster after all, despite the lack of a striker signing, because Schlupp appears to have what it takes to be an excellent, strong, addition to the team.
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126-touch Celtic star who didn’t even score was as vital as Engels
The Celtic man mountain put on a masterclass alongside Arne Engels on Wednesday.
So, while fans may not be pleased with everything that went down on deadline day, it was not a disaster of a window because they still managed to bring in this excellent, versatile, star.
