Brendan Rodgers is walking down a tightrope when it comes to striking options in the squad as he recently lost Odsonne Edouard to injury after Leigh Griffiths decided to take some time off football to concentrate on his personal matters. However, the good news is that Edouard’s injury isn’t too serious (Daily Record) and he might be ready in time for the Old Firm derby before the new year.
However, the club needs to add an option in the striker’s department, and they could consider a move for Everton forward Oumar Niasse. Latest reports from the Liverpool Echo suggests that the Toffees are looking to offload him in January and we believe Celtic should think about moving in for him.
Marco Silva has transformed winger Richarlison into a striker option, and as a result, Oumar Niasse has fallen well down the pecking order as the manager already had Cenk Tosun and Dominic Calvert Lewin ahead of him. The Senegalese striker has just managed four substitute appearances so far, and Niasse hasn’t made it to the matchday squad in the last 12 games.
It’s clear that the striker doesn’t have any future at Goodison and the former Lokomotiv Moscow man seems like a very attainable target for the Hoops. Last season also, the 28-year-old never managed to hold a regular place in the squad but still managed to make 22 appearances in the Premier League and managed eight goals and three assists.
His numbers were decent, but a change in the manager put him entirely out of the picture at the Merseyside club. Niasse has incidentally played under Marco Silva before as he was on loan to Hull City from Everton in the 2016-17 campaign.
Niasse can add depth and competition for places at Park Head, and the striker has the experience of playing in some of the big games against top defenders. The 28-year-old shows decent pace, and his link-up play is also worth mentioning. It is something in which we think he might be an upgrade over Edouard. Even though he has been used at the Merseyside sparsely, the Senegalese managed to score some important goals coming off the bench when main strikers were unavailable
Rodgers has already indicated (Daily Record) that strikers are going to be on his radar in January especially after the departure of Moussa Dembele and the current situation with Griffiths and Edouard. The club should also have enough money in the coffers to pull off a deal for Niasse as they earned a handsome sum of £20m (The Independent) when the Hoops sold Dembele to French outfit, Lyon.
