Deal for Norwegian winger ramped up, could Brendan really be looking at playing Daizen Maeda as a number nine?…

According to reports Celtic have ramped up their interest in Norwegian Sondre Orjasaeter and sources in his homeland have said that the club are looking to secure a £7 million deal to bring the Sarpsborg winger in before the end of the transfer window.
With Jota already on board, bringing in another creative player would further enhance our squad, and Orjasaeter is a highly rated prospect with a number of clubs looking to secure his signature.
UPDATE: Following Celtic's offer for Sondre Ørjasæter, Sarpsborg sporting director Hampus Andersson has told @SkySportsNews: “Sondre is and has been a highly valued player for us.
"Our main goal is to not sell him this window and keep him for at least to the end of the season.” https://t.co/o0uF1buWH0
— Anthony Joseph (@AnthonyRJoseph) January 28, 2025
Orjasaeter is a tricky, skilful winger
Orjasaeter is a tricky, skilful winger with great energy, he’s a typical Brendan Rodgers player so it’s no surprise we are looking to bring someone of his calibre on board. His club clearly don’t want to lose him and are looking at holding out until the summer at least, according to Anthony Joseph at Sky Sports who stated:
‘Following Celtic’s offer for Sondre Ørjasæter, Sarpsborg sporting director Hampus Andersson has told Sky Sports News: “Sondre is and has been a highly valued player for us. “Our main goal is to not sell him this window and keep him for at least to the end of the season.”

Brendan could deploy Maeda as a striker
But money talks in football and If a deal does get over the line it will raise doubts over bringing in another striker to replace Kyogo, in fact I’d say it would be most unlikely and Brendan will look instead to deploy Daizen Maeda in the central number nine role. Daizen has played as a striker for Japan at the last World Cup and the Celtic manager has spoken about his success in playing through the middle previously.

It works if you want to play Jota but can’t drop Kuhn or Maeda
Maybe Brendan wants Jota in his team but to play alongside Nicolas Kuhn and Daizen Maeda and that would mean that it could be centre-forward duties for Daizen going forward. Celtic did spend £9m on Adam Idah in the summer and with Kyogo away he has the chance to stand up and make that striker’s role his own.
While it would be a blow not to directly replace Kyogo, by sanctioning the signings of Orjasaeter along with Jota, the club have shown that they are backing the manager going forward.
Just an Ordinary Bhoy

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If Meada plays through the middle it means we’ve failed to replace Kyogo which is completly unacceptable
I’d play Maeda anywhere. Brilliant speed merchant who gives you 150% every game and the lad can score goals. If he can start to move like Kyogo he will be unstoppable. My favourite Celtic player by far.