The start of a new season is quickly coming, and Celtic remains active in the transfer market.
This summer, the Hoops have already signed five first-team players, with Kieran Tierney’s return being the most anticipated, while Benjamin Nygren, Callum Osmand, Hayato Inamura, and Ross Doohan have also joined.
Brendan Rodgers’ team has won both pre-season friendlies, defeating Queens Park 1-0 at Lesser Hampden last Friday and Cork City 2-1 at Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Tuesday. Colby Donovan, a young defender, scored the late winner in Ireland.
Now that Rodgers is determined to add more attacking firepower to his squad, may the Celts recruit a recognisable figure to Scottish Premiership viewers?
Celtic is looking to add more attacking players.
Celtic are now short on top-tier attacking alternatives, with Jota sidelined for the foreseeable future due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury and Nicolas Kühn on his way to Como.
| Celtic’s current available attackers (2024/25 statistics) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | Club 24/25 | Appearances | Goals | Assists |
| Daizen Maeda | Celtic | 51 | 33 | 12 |
| Adam Idah | Celtic | 53 | 20 | 1 |
| Yang Hyun-Jun | Celtic | 34 | 6 | 6 |
| James Forrest | Celtic | 33 | 1 | 7 |
| Johnny Kenny | Celtic & Shamrock Rovers | 28 | 11 | 4 |
| Luis Palma | Celtic & Olympiacos | 24 | 1 | 1 |
| Benjamin Nygren | Nordsjælland | 32 | 16 | 4 |
| Marco Tilio | Melbourne City | 20 | 5 | 4 |
| Callum Osmand | Fulham U21s | 22 | 11 | 4 |
| Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt | ||||
As the table shows, while Daizen Maeda was on fire and Adam Idah scored 20 goals in all competitions, new signing Benjamin Nygren is the only player who was productive at an elite senior level last season, which is why reinforcements are needed.
According to sources in Spain, Celtic are interested in acquiring Bojan Miovski, a former Aberdeen striker.
The North Macedonia centre-forward left the Dons a year ago to join Girona in La Liga for a reported £6.8 million, but has only scored four goals in 22 appearances for the Catalan club, which is why Blanquivermells are looking to sell.
According to the aforementioned article, Bundesliga trio Freiburg and recently promoted Hamburg have also ‘shown interest’, with Girona aiming to recoup its investment from last summer.
So, might the former Aberdeen fan favourite return to Scottish football, but this time wearing green and white hoops?
Why would Bojan Miovski be an enhancement to Adam Idah?
Miovski impressed during his time at Pittodrie, with his performances regarded as “quality” by journalist Bence Bocsák, earning him a spot on the PFA Scotland Team of the Year, an impressive feat for any non-Old Firm player.
Then, teammate Nicky Devlin thought Miovski was the finest striker in the Premiership, while Scott Bradley of Breaking the Lines described him as a ‘clinical finisher’. Journalist Josh Bunting even referred to him as the “complete number nine”.
So, let’s analyse how his numbers compare to Idah, who is yet to truly nail down the starting center-forward role at Celtic, despite being signed for £9m following a loan spell, and the evident need for a striker after Kyōgo Furuhashi was sold.
| Bojan Miovski at Aberdeen vs Adam Idah at Celtic comparison | ||
|---|---|---|
| Statistics | Miovski | Idah |
| Appearances | 98 | 72 |
| Minutes | 7,597 | 3,181 |
| Goals | 44 | 29 |
| Premiership goals | 32 | 21 |
| European goals | 4 | 3 |
| Assists | 7 | 3 |
| All statistics below are on a per-90 basis. | ||
| Shots | 2.3 | 3.6 |
| Shots on target | 1.3 | 2.3 |
| Chances Created | 0.8 | 1 |
| Touches | 28.1 | 36.8 |
| Touches in the box | 4.9 | 7.8 |
| Statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt and Squawka | ||
As shown in the table, Miovski’s raw statistics, goals and assists, are superior to Idah’s, despite playing more than twice as many minutes in Scottish football.
Nonetheless, the bottom section of statistics demonstrates why North Macedonia’s success is so noteworthy: scoring so many goals for a club that finished third and then seventh, resulting in far fewer shots and touches than Idah.
Thus, given the service that a Celtic striker receives, imagine how good Miovski’s goal-scoring numbers might be.
Thus, given that he is familiar with the league and would need little time to adjust, if Celtic are looking for a guaranteed striker right now, he may be the man.
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