Celtic could sign Rodgers' next Vardy in late swoop for 6ft 1 gem

Celtic could sign Rodgers’ next Vardy in late swoop for 6ft 1 gem

There’s no two ways about it, Scottish champions Celtic have simply not got the best out of star man Kyogo Furuhashi this season, with the Japanese marksman seemingly suffering following the departure of former boss Ange Postecoglou over the summer.

After previously netting 54 goals in just 83 games under the man who brought him to Glasgow on a £4.6m deal in 2021, the 29-year-old has since scored ‘just’ 11 times in 30 appearances following Brendan Rodgers’ arrival in the dugout.

While hardly a dismal return, that haul of eight Premiership goals is far from the former Vissel Kobe man’s return of 27 in the league last season, having now netted just twice in his last nine top-flight outings for the Old Firm giants.

Kyogo’s 2023/24 Premiership season in numbers

22 games (19 starts)

12 ‘big chances’ missed

8 goals

3 assists

5 ‘big chances’ created

16.7 touches per game

69% pass accuracy rate

38% total duels won

Stats via Sofascore

With Rodgers insisting last month that he hasn’t asked anything different of the diminutive marksman to what Postecoglou had previously, the question remains as to why the £19k-per-week speedster is not firing on all cylinders at present.

Those concerns have only been heightened by the lack of depth in the striking department following Oh Hyeon-gyu’s departure to represent his country at the Asian Cup, with the South Korean star the only other senior centre-forward option behind Kyogo in the Hoops’ squad.

That has ensured that signing a new number nine has become something of a priority before the end of the window, with one promising talent seemingly catching the eye of those at Parkhead.

Celtic want to sign the next Jamie Vardy

According to Sky Sports journalist, Anthony Joseph, the Glasgow outfit are now “focussing efforts” on signing a new left-back and striker with just a week left in the window, having already snapped up Nicolas Kuhn from Rapid Vienna on a £3m deal.

One potential attacking target that the club may have their eye on is Bristol City’s Tommy Conway, with a report from Football Insider last week naming Celtic among the list of suitors who are ‘tracking’ the England-born, Scotland U21 international.

The 21-year-old – who is also on the radar of Rangers – has just 18 months left on his current deal at Ashton Gate, thus ensuring that the Robins may be forced to cash in in the near future, rather than letting his transfer value diminish.

If the 6 foot 1 hitman is the subject of a late approach from the league leaders, he could well be Rodgers’ next Jamie Vardy, having previously been likened to the Leicester City hero by former Bristol boss, Nigel Pearson.

How Tommy Conway compares to Jamie Vardy

As Conway himself admitted, he is a striker who typically looks to “go in behind” and stretch opposition defences, with that perhaps the reason – as well as his goalscoring capabilities – that Pearson “compares” the youngster to Vardy.

That is certainly an intriguing comparison and one that will have caught the eye of Rodgers, with the Northern Irishman having enjoyed a fruitful relationship with Vardy during his time in charge of Leicester, having ended his first spell with Celtic to join the Foxes in 2019.

In 157 games working under the one-time Liverpool boss, the experienced striker scored a remarkable 70 goals and contributed a further 30 assists, with the Midlands side notably going on to claim a first FA Cup triumph in 2021.

A player who evidently slotted in smoothly to Rodgers’ way of playing – with the current Celtic boss describing him as an “icon” – Vardy thrived as the main man in attack at the King Power Stadium, with perhaps young Conway able to do the same at Celtic Park.

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The Hoops were previously linked with an interest in the impressive forward.

There had been hopes that Kyogo could be a “younger, faster” version of Vardy for Rodgers to work with – according to pundit Frank McAvennie – yet amid the 5 foot 7 dynamo’s recent woes, Conway could threaten his place in the side if a deal is to be agreed.

As Sky Sports pundit Lee Hendrie stated back in 2022, the Taunton-born hotshot has been “on absolute flames” in the Championship of late, with it no surprise that he is generating interest from a raft of elite clubs.

Tommy Conway’s season in numbers

Despite being hampered by injury at times this season, Conway has chalked up a respectable haul of eight goals in 23 games in all competitions, including scoring six goals in 21 Championship appearances.

The Bristol academy graduate has particularly caught the eye this month, however, as a result of his displays in the FA Cup, scoring two goals in as many games against Premier League highflyers, West Ham United, to send his side into the Fourth Round of the competition.

The former Bath City loanee first helped to send the tie to a replay after lashing in a stunning equaliser at the London Stadium, bursting in behind the Hammers’ defence before firing home in a manner that Vardy himself would no doubt be proud of.

That was then followed up by what proved to be the decisive goal in a 1-0 win on home soil for the Championship side, Conway pouncing on a defensive mistake from the visitors before passing into an empty net from the angle.

The intelligence to pounce on that error as well as having the sharpness to take the opportunity will again have only served to corroborate those comparisons to Vardy, with former Leicester City coach Craig Shakespeare describing the Premier League winner as a “pest” due to his movement in the final third.

Rodgers will be fully aware just what a ‘pest’ Vardy truly was in his pomp, hence the wisdom in snapping up his heir apparent to provide genuine competition to Kyogo at Parkhead.