Brendan Rodgers admits Celtic need to unearth another striker in January as Asia Cup impact laid bare

The staging of the Asia Cup leaves Celtic facing the possibility of being robbed of all of their recongised frontline strikers for a crucial run of fixtures subsequent to next January’s winter shutdown.

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - OCTOBER 25: Celtic's Kyogo Furuhashi celebrates with Daizen Maeda after making it 1-0 during a UEFA Champions League match between Celtic and Atletico de Madrid at Celtic Park, on October 25, 2023, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Rob Casey / SNS Group)

But the potential that Kyogo Furuhashi, Daizen Maeda and Oh Hyeon-gyu will be absent for away trips to Aberdeen and Hibs in early February isn’t a source of angst for Brendan Rodgers. Or a reason to alter intentions over the business the Scottish champions will seek to do in the next transfer window. Not when he maintains that the impact of the Asia Cup has been something to which he has “given a lot of thought” ever since returning to Glasgow in the summer.

It would have been remiss if that hadn’t been so in light of the fact Japan are the highest-ranked nation competing in the tournament, and South Korea the third. As a result, should the currently sidelined Reo Hatate and Maeda be restored to fitness for the Christmas period - as is their target - all three are likely to be in Qatar with South Korean Celtic team-mates Yang Hyun-jun for a competition that runs for almost a month from January 14. The semi-finals, which both nations will see as the minimum target, are scheduled for the midweek before the February 10 final - as Celtic will travel through to Easter Road following a trip to Pittodrie the previous weekend. Two of the four games their Asia Cup participants could miss. Rodgers appears sanguine about the possibility of his squad being seriously weakened in the forward areas across the early weeks of the new year restart. And the 50-year-old suggests he won’t necessarily look to the market to provide solutions.

“It’s like the Africa Cup of Nations, it’s part of the deal. If you have a number of Asian players in your squad you know this might happen so it’s about dealing with it,” he said. “It’s not a surprise. It is something you have to plan forward for and it was one of the first things we spoke about coming in here. It’s not all about the present, it’s about looking forward to each window. We have that in hand and we know what our ideas are for that. [When it comes to strikers] our first look is always from inside. Is there anyone in the academy base we feel can step in and have a chance to play? The first look is never outside, it has to be from within. You never know, you might have a £15 or £20 million player in your academy. We assess that, speak to the academy coaches and we observe them a lot anyway. Then if it’s the case where it’s not inside then of course we have to look outside. It’s then about strategy. So you can either bring one in, buy one, or you can look at a loan market. It’s always about availability and what you can afford as well.

“[Situations like this are] always an opportunity for someone else. Everyone is replaceable, so of course you want to have the squad and them all there. But we’ve known all along they won’t be, so we’re prepared. For a number of games there is the possibility of players switching positions. Last time when I was here I played Patrick Roberts as a striker, James Forrest as a striker, Scott Sinclair for about 20 minutes as a striker but he was hopeless so he went back on the left again. That didn’t work…We’ve got adaptability within the squad but we’ll know what we need.”