As Celtic head into next season it looks probable the forward positions are going to be somewhat threadbare.
With Patryk Klimala already off to the bright lights of New York and Odsonne Edouard looking destined for the English Premier League, Celtic are relying on a new manager to eke out the talent in Albian Ajeti that flourished at the start of the season but soon seemed to disappear. And it wasn’t simply expectation that weighed heavy, there appeared to be a great degree of timber being carried by Celtic’s £5million signing from West Ham.
Meanwhile Leigh Griffiths picked the worst possible season to decide to return to pre-season out of shape and as such is now sweating – and not for the first time this season – on whether the club will take up the extra year option on his contract. That particular decision seems to have been put on ice, you’d assume waiting for a new boss to give him the once over, however if you were having a bet on the outcome, I’m not sure many would put hard earned cash on Griffiths signing on again.
With Vakoun Bayo now on loan in the French second tier and Jonathan Afolabi in the Scottish Championship with Dundee it is hard to see either of those players coming back to Celtic and claiming a supporting role never mind a starting slot. As such Celtic will be in the market for strikers this summer and could need as many as three.
One player worth having a look at is currently plying his trade with a club Celtic have had a bit of success with in the past, when it comes to poaching developing talent before the big clubs realise their worth. Groningen’s Jørgen Strand Larsen – the club Celtic signed a certain Virgil Van Dijk from – is a striker certainly worth entering Celtic’s striking calculations this summer. Strand Larsen appears to be the player we assumed Bayo might be but who didn’t quite have the first touch to carry out the task – a hold up striker.
Larsen is a big unit of a player but with an excellent touch and superb shielding abilities. His style is reminiscent of Chris Sutton and with more than a touch of Peter Crouch thrown in. He is very much a team player, with an approach built around brining supporting forwards into play. Although not particularly pacey he still manages to cover the ground as his excellent protection of the ball allows him to get up the field and defenders struggle with his height and strength to dispossess.
For a side lacking threat in both boxes Larsen would make an ideal signing as Celtic look to compensate for a lack of height and strength in both boxes. Larsen is 21 and now a Norwegian International having moved from Norwegian side Sarpsborg 08 to his Dutch club via a loan spell with AC Milan Under 19’s for a fee of around £900,000.
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He is not simply a supporting player however, as allied to his hold up play, he has also supplied nine goals and six assists this season and seems to be developing very well indeed.
Groningen will perhaps be keen to hold on to the player having only signed him at the start of last season, however his talents will end up on a higher stage, and if he continues to progress as he has been then Celtic could be missing the boat if they don’t make a move this summer.
When Celtic signed Albian Ajeti it was made clear the Swiss forward preferred playing as part of a partnership up front, and early on we certainly saw hints of finishing prowess from the player. Strand Larsen could be the sort of player that would complement Ajeti, capable as he is of doing a lot of the physical hard graft and allowing a nimbler finisher to pick up on the second balls or play off Larsen’s lay-offs – dare I say it even Griffiths may benefit from such a player in the Celtic squad.
If Celtic were to consider the player then Groningen may well be tempted to cash in on someone they paid under £1m for last September and a bid between £3-4m would surely have them considering cashing in as they are very much a selling club.
That fee wouldn’t break the bank for Celtic, not when you consider we’ve recouped near to that figure by offloading Klimala already and far more will come into the coffers as and when Odsonne Edouard moves on.
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Strand Larsen may not be the marquee signing the Celtic support would expect to replace French Eddy, at only 21 and still learning his trade, but he is the sort of player who could re-awaken the strikers we have and be the Kingmaker for those around him. Add to that he fits Celtic’s transfer model of a player on the up with undoubted sell on value. A player with his attributes should he shine at Celtic would soon have chequebooks opening from the English Premier League and the Bundesliga. For Celtic this would be just the time to pounce.
Niall J
