Celtic eye £5m player after Brendan Rodgers drops hint | OneFootball

Celtic are heading towards an important summer transfer window. The club have shown improvement in Europe this season. Now, the focus has to be on building on that good run and getting even better in future seasons. For that to happen, the Hoops need to invest in the squad and bring in some top quality players.

For a long time, it had been believed that Celtic would try to sign a striker this summer. But now, it looks like those plans might have changed.

Daizen Maeda has been terrific since being moved to a more central role, following the departure of Kyogo. He has scored 30 times already this season despite playing the majority of it as a winger. One can only wonder how many goals he is capable of scoring if given a full campaign as the first-choice striker.

Well, it is very possible that Maeda might get that chance in the future. Rodgers recently suggested that it would easier for Celtic to get a top winger than it is to bring in a top striker.

Celtic eye £5m player after Brendan Rodgers drops hint

Incidentally, soon after those comments, it looks like the club have reignited their interest in a winger they had been linked with last summer. As reported by The Scottish Sun, Celtic ran a fresh check on £5 million-rated winger Michel-Ange Balikwisha as they ramp up their transfer plans.

Balikwisha currently plays for Royal Antwerp. He has spent the majority of this season dealing with injury problems though and has only been able to make six league appearances as a result.

It is believed that Balikwisha had the chance to leave this season. But he did not want to make a move while being injured, which is sensible. Often, it is important to make a positive impression when joining a new club and that is impossible to do when you can't even play.

Celtic have been linked with Balikwisha for quite some time now. They had the Belgian winger on their radar last year and this winter as well. Could next summer be the time when they are finally able to bring him to Glasgow?

Time shall tell. For now, the focus has to be on finishing this season as strong as possible and then turning towards the transfer window. The Hoops cannot afford to lose sight of their goal for a second, which is to finish the campaign strong and with a domestic treble.