Celtic decided to go back to a familiar face last summer as they opted to bring Brendan Rodgers to Parkhead for a second spell in charge of the club.

The Hoops were rocked by Ange Postecoglou's move to Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur at the end of the 2022/23 campaign, which culminated in a domestic treble for the Scottish giants.

They will not be able to match, or better, that feat this time around as the Bhoys were knocked out of the League Cup, which was subsequently won by Rangers, by Kilmarnock in August.

Rodgers' side have also been knocked out of Europe already as Celtic finished bottom of their Champions League group with one win in six matches.

They are currently eight points clear of Rangers at the top of the Scottish Premiership. However, their rivals have two games in hand on them as it stands.

The January transfer window opened for business at the start of last week and the Northern Irish head coach could dip into the market to improve his playing squad.

Celtic transfer news – Lawrence Shankland

Earlier this month, journalist Graeme Bailey reported that Celtic are considering a swoop to sign Hearts captain Lawrence Shankland to improve their attack.

He added that the Scottish club could struggle to keep hold of their skipper in January amid interest from a host of clubs, including a number of English sides.

Teams from the Premier League and the Championship south of the border are said to be keeping an eye on the forward, as per the accompanying report from Bailey's post.

Everton, Crystal Palace, Burnley, and Sheffield United are the top-flight clubs in England who have been keeping tabs on the Scotland international. Meanwhile, second tier sides Southampton, Hull, and Middlesbrough have also shown an interest in him.

At the end of December, Football Insider reported that Rangers are tracking the Hearts star but look set to be priced out of a move for him this month.

The Premiership team are set to demand a fee of at least £3m and this means that Philippe Clement's side may not be able to strike a deal until the summer.

This means that Celtic could steal a march on their rivals by swooping to land his services this month, five months before the other team in Glasgow can afford to.

However, they look set to face serious competition from a host of sides in England and may have to hope that Shankland would prefer to remain in his home country instead of wanting to test his luck south of the border in either the Premier League or Championship.

Rodgers could now ignite Kyogo Furuhashi's season at Parkhead by swooping to sign the Hearts skipper, who could play alongside him to take the pressure off him in the final third.

Kyogo's drop-off in form

The Japanese centre-forward, who has not been selected to represent his country at the Asian Cup this month, has not hit top form in a Celtic shirt this season.

Kyogo has failed to replicate the immense form he displayed in front of goal throughout the 2022/23 campaign for Ange Postecoglou in the Premiership.

As you can see in the table above, the 28-year-old marksman was a prolific scorer for the Hoops in the top-flight with more than one goal every 90 minutes on average.

He proved himself to be a lethal and reliable attacking threat for the Scottish giants throughout the campaign, which earned him the PFA Scotland Player of the Year award for his efforts.

However, the right-footed dynamo has not been able to reach those levels so far this season. Kyogo has produced eight goals and three assists in 22 Premiership games.

The Celtic attacker has found the back of the net once every 190 minutes on average in the top-flight, which is a significant drop-off in form from the previous campaign.

Kyogo has only won 1.3 duels per game, including 0.2 aerial contests per match, in the Premiership this season, and signing a striker who can take on the physical workload whilst also offering a goal threat could be the perfect way to get the best out of him.

The statistics that show why Celtic should sign Shankland

Rodgers must now push for the club to win the race to sign Shankland from Hearts as the Scotland international has the attributes to be that foil for the Japan international.

The Jam Tarts talisman has won 4.0 duels per match, which includes 1.6 in the air, across 21 Premiership appearances this season, and won 4.2 per game across the 2022/23 league campaign.

This suggests that the £3m-rated ace has the physicality to cause problems for defenders and to offer an outball for Celtic when they are under pressure. Whereas, the ball rarely sticks with Kyogo due to his lack of involvement in duels with opposition players when the ball comes forward.

Shankland, who was once lauded as "different class" by journalist Joel Sked, has far more to offer than his ability to win duels against centre-backs, though, as he is also a prolific scorer.

The 28-year-old striker has outperformed Kyogo in front of goal this season with a return of 13 goals in 21 Premiership matches for Hearts – one strike every 145 minutes on average.

As you can see in the table above, Shankland enjoyed a similar level of production during the 2022/23 campaign and this shows that he has been a consistent performer for his side over the last 18 months.

The experienced finisher is a proven SPFL marksman who has showcased his consistency and quality since the start of last season, which suggests that he could hit the ground running at Parkhead if Rodgers is able to strike a deal for him this month.

Shankland's arrival could then ignite Kyogo's campaign and help the Japan international to get back to his best by allowing him to focus purely on his work in front of goal instead of needing to compete with opposition defenders in physical battles, either behind the Scottish striker or out on the wing with a license to drift inside into scoring positions.

Celtic would then, in theory, have two prolific centre-forwards who could fire them to success during the second half of the season for Rodgers.