Celtic had an obviously good season, but one that ended in disappointment.
Aberdeen defeated the Hoops on penalties in the Scottish Cup Final on Saturday, with both captain Callum McGregor and Alistair Johnston’s 12-yard tries saved by Dons keeper Dimitar Mitov.
This marks Brendan Rodgers’ first defeat at Hampden, as well as the Celts’ first cup final loss since being defeated by Kilmarnock in the League Cup Final in 2012, after which they won all 15 consecutive games, prior to the weekend.
Nonetheless, the Bhoys won their fourth consecutive Premiership title, won the League Cup, and advanced to the Champions League knockout stage, so there is still something to be optimistic about.
Now, can they sign a highly regarded young winger?
Celtic chasing a new wide-forward
According to Ola Gustavsson of Fotboll Direkt, a Swedish outlet, Celtic are ‘interested’ in signing Oskar Fallenius, while fierce rivals Rangers have also scouted the 23-year-old.
Fallenius’ professional breakthrough came at Brommapojkarna, earning him a move to Brøndby. However, he made little impression at the Danish Superligaen giants, scoring only two goals in 13 appearances, being an unused replacement on 22 occasions, and plagued by a ligament injury.
He returned to Sweden and joined Djurgårdens for just two million kronor (about £155k). Freddie Arnesson of TuttoSvenskan called his performances “incredible” and helped the team reach the Conference League semi-finals.
So, could he be moving again, this time to Glasgow’s East End?
How Oskar Fallenius Compares to Jota
Celtic are undoubtedly in the market for several new forwards this summer, following Jota’s anterior cruciate ligament tear against Dundee United at Tannadice in April, with Rodgers admitting he will be out for “six to nine months”.
Kyōgo Furuhashi was transferred to Stade Rennais in January, and Luis Palma is slated to leave permanently this summer, leaving the Hoops short on offensive options.
Daizen Maeda, Adam Idah, Nicolas Kühn, Yang Hyun-jun, and youngster Johnny Kenny are currently the only players contending for the leading three slots.
Thus, it’s safe to conclude that Rodgers will want more firepower than that at his disposal, especially with a critical Champions League play-off approaching at the end of August.
Jota had been in good goal-scoring form since returning to the club in January, previous to his injury.
He scored off the bench just 25 minutes into his second debut against Motherwell at Fir Park, and he now has five goals and two assists in his 16 games. So, how does he compare to his probable replacement, Fallenius?
| Jota at Celtic 24/25 vs Oskar Fallenius in Europe 24/25 | ||
|---|---|---|
| Statistics | Jota | Fallenius |
| Appearances | 16 | 13 |
| Minutes | 783 | 789 |
| Goals | 5 | 1 |
| Assists | 2 | 3 |
| Big chances missed | 1 | 2 |
| Big chances created | 3 | 0 |
| Shots on target | 9 | 8 |
| Shooting accuracy % | 64% | 62% |
| Passing Accuracy % | 82% | 75% |
| Take-on Success % | 35.71% | 36.36% |
| Touches per 90 | 62 | 41 |
| Average Sofascore rating | 7.17 | 6.92 |
| Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt, Squawka and SofaScore | ||
As shown in the table, Jota and Fallenius’ statistics are broadly comparable in a nearly equivalent number of minutes.
The Portuguese winger leads in goals, shooting and passing accuracy, and touches per 90 minutes, while the youthful Swede has one more assist and a marginally greater take-on success rate.
Djurgårdens manager Jani Honkavaara believes Fallenius has ‘the X-factor’, while Marcus Christenson of the Guardian considers him one of the Blue Stripes’ important attacking players.
Thus, the 23-year-old is undoubtedly a talented forward, making him a fantastic low-cost alternative for Celtic this summer.
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