With Brendan Rodgers after a striker in the January transfer window, Celtic have been offered the chance to sign Sydney van Hooijdonk from Bologna. The Italian side have just signed Santiago Castro from Argentine club Velez Sarsfield, and it means that Van Hooijdonk is surplus to requirements.
Celtic could land exciting Kyogo partner before deadline day
A Hoops deal for the impressive young centre-forward is said to be “on the cards”.
ByDan Emery
The Dutchman's entourage are actively pushing to take him to Celtic, and Fabrizio Romano says the Hoops are interested in that possibility, but another name has now cropped up in the Parkhead centre-forward discussion just days before the deadline.
Ings emerges as late Celtic candidate
According to journalist Mark Guidi, who was speaking on the Go Radio Football Show on Monday, Danny Ings is a possible target for Celtic in the final days of the transfer window. He picked out the West Ham man as a potential short-term addition for Rodgers, but didn't comment on the likelihood of a move.
He said: "Could it be a short-term thing? Could it be Danny Ings from West Ham? Who knows. That’s where, through your contacts, you have to be creative in the market."
70-goal Ings can reunite with Rodgers
Ings had already looked set to leave West Ham earlier in the transfer window as the Irons tried to clear some or all of his wages off the books, with fellow Premier League side Wolves the favourites for his signature. However, David Moyes then had to press pause on that transfer after another of his strikers, Michail Antonio, suffered an injury in training that is expected to keep him out until the middle of February.
In the aftermath, Ings has started the last two games for West Ham – an FA Cup replay defeat to Bristol City and a 2-2 league draw with Sheffield United – but with Antonio on the comeback trail, he could soon fall back down the pecking order.
Indeed, until recently, he'd only started one league game all season and had been left as an unsubstituted for exactly half of his side's top-flight matches (10/20). He wasn't exactly the nailed-on cup striker here, only making the XI for two of West Ham's six Europa League group-stage games and one of their three League Cup ties.
This is despite the fact that he's a proven goalscorer at the highest level, having netted 70 in 216 Premier League appearances across his career. He was most prolific during his time at Southampton, where he finished runner-up behind Leicester's Jamie Vardy in the 2019/20 Golden Boot race after scoring 22 times.
Significantly, Rodgers has personal experience of working with Ings, having brought him to Liverpool on a free transfer only a few months before he was sacked in 2015.
Games played
9
Total minutes
537
Games started
5
Goals scored
3
A lot has happened for both Rodgers and Ings since then, but he'd still be a real coup for they battle arch-rivals Rangers for Scottish Premiership glory in the months ahead.