Celtic supporters are not happy with their side’s summer transfer business, so expect the Scottish Premiership champions to be busy in the final week of the window.
Vociferous chants of ‘sack the board’ could be heard throughout Wednesday night’s goalless draw with Kairat, meaning Brendan Rodgers’ side must now win in Kazakhstan next week to qualify for the Champions League.
No new faces will be eligible to feature in Almaty, just the 3,500 miles east of Glasgow, but with the first Old Firm of the season coming up the following Sunday, Rodgers will be desperate to belatedly get some quality new recruits through the door.
So, could the Hoops finally land one of their top targets?
Celtic's need for signings
As reported by Sky Sports News, Celtic are aiming to sign “two wingers, a striker and a left-back” before the transfer window closes on 1 September, and it is the attacking area of the pitch where new recruits are most required.
The Hoops have scored just three goals in their opening two Premiership outings, their joint-lowest tally since 2012, while Rodgers’ team rarely looked like breaking the deadlock against Kairat in mid-week, their sole Opta-defined big chance a Liam Scales header from a corner.
In search of more creativity, Anthony Joseph of Sky Sports News claims that Celtic are “ramping up” their interest in Jakob Breum.
He adds that “fresh talks” between the Celts and Go Ahead Eagles have taken place, claiming that the 21-year-old is valued at around £5m, while a report by the Herald asserts that Breum has a £6m price-tag on his head, a valuation that ‘is likely to increase’ if Celtic make it through to the Champions League league phase.
So, will he become the 11th Danish player to represent Celtic, linking up with Kasper Schmeichel, while looking to emulate Matt O’Riley, Morten Wieghorst, and others?
What Jakob Breum would bring to Celtic
Born in Odense, Breum began his senior career with local team Odense Boldklub, making 51 appearances for the Danish Superligaen side, before joining Go Ahead Eagles in 2023.
His first season in the Netherlands was pretty quiet, scoring just three Eredivisie goals, before really bursting onto the scene last time round.
He scored ten times in the Eredivisie, only three midfielders, namely Sem Steijn (24), Malik Tillman (12) and Ismael Saibari (11) bagged more, while it was also a historic campaign for Go Ahead Eagles, defeating AZ on penalties in April’s KNVB Beker Final at De Kuip, thereby landing the club’s first-ever major silverware.
This has earned them a place in this season’s Europa League, the first time ever Go Ahead Eagles will feature in a European group stage, hence why they’re desperate to hold onto their star man.
So, let’s assess Breum’s statistics from last season.
Goals
10
10th
Goals + assists
15
10th
Shots
59
18th
Shots on target
22
15th
Goals – xG
+3.7
10th
Key passes
44
16th
Shot-creating actions
100
9th
Big chances missed
4
42nd
Big chances created
6
37th
Accurate final 3rd passes
270
31st
Touches
1238
99th
Average SofaScore rating
7.3
13th
As the table outlines, Breum’s statistics are impressive across the board, most notably when it comes to goals scored, shot-creating actions, and the fact he over-performed his expected goals by almost four, emphasising his clinical nature.
Despite their cup triumph, Go Ahead Eagles did finish seventh in the Eredivisie, one of the least-balanced leagues in Europe, making his performances for not one of the Netherlands’ powerhouses even more commendable, performing in what is, according to Global Football Rankings, the 13th strongest league in the world, 14 places above the Premiership.
Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout labels him an “underrated creative winger”, adding that he has an “interesting future ahead”, while António Mango adds that he “can operate anywhere behind a striker”, believing that the “impressive” Dane could contribute to a team at an even higher level than he is now.
So, why would this be such a key addition for Celtic?
Well, Breum would surely help unleash the Hoops’ current most dangerous attacker, Daizen Maeda.
During Wednesday’s dire goalless draw with Kairat, the Japanese forward was deployed wide-left in the first half, before moving into the centre-forward role after the break, but this did not have the desired effect.
Maeda touched the ball just 45 times all nine, eight Celtic players, including Anthony Ralston and James Forrest, both of whom came off the bench, accumulated more, while the forward had only one shot, a tame attempt straight at Temirlan Anarbekov in stoppage time.
Having scored 33 goals across all competitions last season, Maeda has proven himself as a reliable goalscorer, but he still requires service, which is exactly what Breum could provide, so not only would Celtic be securing the signature of a highly-rated youngster, this move could also unlock the best in their most quality attacker.