Celtic head coach Ange Postecoglou could use the upcoming summer transfer window to bolster his squad ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.
The Australian manager will seal the domestic treble for the season with a win over Inverness in the Scottish Cup final on Saturday, yet the club’s success may not stop them from trying to improve the team in the coming weeks.
One player the Hoops have been linked with a move for is Swansea striker Liam Cullen and the Welshman could come in as an upgrade on current Celtic attacker Daizen Maeda.
The 24-year-old has played the majority of his career to date as a centre-forward but has also been used on the right and the left flanks and this suggests that the gem has the capabilities to play as a winger, which means that he could undergo a Maeda-like transformation at Parkhead.
Prior to joining the Hoops, the Japan international had played 113 matches as a second striker or centre-forward and 44 times as a left winger. Since arriving in Scotland, he has been deployed eight times as a number nine and has made 40 appearances on the left wing.
This shows that Postecoglou has been able to successfully integrate him into the side as a wide player week-in-week-out in spite of the 5 foot 8 gem playing the majority of his football down the middle previously, which is what the coach could do with Cullen.
The £3k-per-week marksman, whose movement was described as “underrated” by journalist Josh Bunting, scored eight league goals in 15 starts and missed three ‘big chances’ for Swansea in 2022/23, whereas, Maeda managed eight in 25 starts in the Scottish Premiership and missed 11 ‘big chances’.
At various youth level, the Welsh U21 international plundered 37 goals and eight assists in 77 matches for the Swans and this shows that the potential is there for the ace to be a prolific attacker who can also create for his teammates.
Maeda has averaged a goal every 3.68 matches for Celtic in all competitions (19 in 70) and Cullen’s return of a strike every 2.14 outings at an academy level indicates that the 24-year-old dynamo has the scope to develop into being a big upgrade on the Japanese winger.
The Swansea star, whose goal record at first-team level was more impressive than Maeda’s this season, has untapped potential and Postecoglou could get the best out of him by deploying the gem out wide, which would allow him to use his movement to make runs in behind whilst the defence are too busy trying to stop Kyogo Furuhashi.
Therefore, Postecoglou could unearth a big upgrade on Maeda by swooping to sign Cullen from the Championship side this summer.
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