Celtic boss sidesteps Bojan Miovski question and reveals possible 'top class loan' option for January

Brendan Rodgers in the market for a striker ahead of three potential Asian Cup exits

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers will be without top scorer Kyogo Furuhashi for the duration of the Asian Cup. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

A happy medium in the striker department might not be easy to come by for Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers in the coming months.

When it comes to Sunday’s trip to Kilmarnock and the coming glut of fixtures, the Irishman has the luxury of being able to select between the ever-reliable Kyogo Furuhashi and an Oh Hyeon-gyu fresh from a double in the midweek 4-1 win over Hibs as his senior frontline partner was given a breather. Yet, Japan forward Furuhashi and his South Korean counterpart will be rendered unavailable to Celtic - in addition to the soon-to-return-from injury Daizen Maeda - for the post-winter break fixtures thanks to the Asian Cup that will run from mid-January for a month.

It is perhaps why names of strikers have started to be bandied around as possible window acquisitions by the Scottish champions. Mathias Kvistgaarden has long been a player of interest, but of intrigue this week was Aberdeen frontman Bojan Miovski being suggested as a possible £4m target. Rodgers gave little away over whether there was substance to that link as he tacitly acknowledged the potential loss of his three principal central striker options.

“I woudn’t comment on any player,” he said when Miovski’s name was put to him. “This is the period where agents throw out names and links, so if I did it would be a long six weeks…[With the Asian Cup situation] you first look to within the club and if there is anyone who can make that step into the first team. Then you look if you bring someone in a permanent role, someone who can challenge the guys when they come back. Or are you bringing in a top class loan, who will be with you for that period? That is then about availability. You have to plan forward. We can control what comes in. It has to work for us.”

The plastic pitch at Rugby Park hasn’t always worked for Rodgers at the Celtic helm. The League Cup loss in August marked the third time he has been on the losing side at Ayrshire ground across his two spells in charge. The 50-year-old offered a “lovely” to the suggestion that Kilmarnock are looking to rip it up in the next 18 months amid reports synthetic surfaces could be banned in the Scottish top flight. The Celtic manager gave a weary response on being engaged over his long-held opposition to them.

“I am bored talking about it, to be honest. It bores the life out of me talking about plastic pitches,” he said. “If you don’t know by now that every manager would rather not have them, then you never will. You have to play on it, so there’s no point moaning or crying about it. We weren’t good enough the last time, but hopefully we can be this time.”

Meanwhile, Harry Kewell would leave with Rodgers blessing should the interest in the Celtic coach filling the vacant Yokohama F Marinos managerial post firm up. “There’s an interest in Harry from a couple of clubs. I spoke to him after the game the other night,” said the 50-year-old. “I think it’s great. I always like to have talented people around me and when you have talented people, there’s always a chance they will get the opportunity to move. I’ve always been one who thinks if a move can really help a player or coach in their career and their families position in life, they need to explore it. There’s nothing concrete at the moment, but we will see how it develops in the coming days.”