Rodgers eyeing Celtic swoop for “impressive” £14k-p/w marksman, he could be Hooper 2.0

Rodgers eyeing Celtic swoop for “impressive” £14k-p/w marksman, he could be Hooper 2.0

Japan’s decision to not call up Kyogo Furuhashi, along with colleagues Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda,

for the 2023 Asian Cup gave Celtic a lift earlier this month.

Hyeon-gyu Oh, a fellow centre striker,

will not be available for the Hoops until his nation’s participation concludes,

having been chosen to play for South Korea in the competition.

Kyogo, a striker from Japan, has only scored eight goals in 22 Scottish Premiership games,

and he is still waiting to reach his full potential.

The 28-year-old scorched 27 goals in 31 league starts and averaged one goal for the Glasgow giants per 87 minutes of play the previous season.

This season, his scoring frequency has decreased to one goal per 190 minutes of league football,

indicating a decline in his play since Brendan Rodgers took over.

Oh’s participation in the Asian Cup and this appear to have prompted the club to explore into adding another number nine to their roster during the January transfer window.

Joe Gelhardt’s transfer to Celtic

Scottish powerhouses Celtic and Rangers are reportedly interested in Leeds United attacker Joe Gelhardt this month, according to The Daily Mail.

The former Wigan prospect, who has battled for playing time with Daniel Farke’s team thus far this season,

looks to be Rodgers’ target for a raid.

However, there may be competition from England for the gifted player,

as journalist Alan Nixon recently revealed on his Patreon that Blackburn Rovers,

along with colleague Charlie Cresswell,

are also interested in signing him.

The Daily Mail article, however, doesn’t say if the English child would be signing a long-term or loan agreement,

or if the Whites are willing to allow him to depart before the window closes.

The Hoops may want to consider a permanent contract because it would enable them to add him as a long-term player with room to grow in the future.

At just 21 years old, Gelhardt is still developing as a player and has a lot of time left to contribute to the first team.

If Celtic can only sign him on loan until the conclusion of the current season,

then Gelhardt may not have the opportunity to do so.

By obtaining a long-term contract for the gifted young player from Leeds,

Rodgers may be able to discover the team’s next Gary Hooper.

Similar to Gelhardt, the former Hoops marksman was a short,

stocky center-forward who rose to prominence in Scottish football for his prolific scoring skills.

The record of Gary Hooper for Celtic

In the summer of 2010, Celtic acquired the English finisher from Scunthorpe United,

and he went on to have three incredible years at Parkhead.

With 36 appearances across all competitions, the 5 foot 9 attacker,

who did not present a formidable presence for opposing defences at the top of the pitch,

got off to a quick start, tallying 22 goals and dishing out nine assists.

In 26 Scottish Premiership games, he amassed an incredible 20 goals and 9 assists,

or more than one goal contribution per game on average.

In 50 games across all competitions, Hooper followed it up with 29 goals and 11 assists for the Hoops,

including two goals and one assist in five Europa League appearances.

His magnificent output of 31 goals and ten assists in 51 games for Celtic marked the end of his final season in Scotland.

In seven Champions League matches and four competition qualifiers, he scored two goals each.

Hooper was the only player to score more than 20 goals for the team in three straight seasons until Odsonne Edouard did it by 2021.
The outstanding player amassed 82 goals and 30 assists for the Scottish powerhouses throughout 137 games across all competitions. This indicates that the English star scored or assisted once per 1.22 games on average.

After completing a permanent transfer to Norwich City in England, he went on to score six goals in 32 Premier League games and 20 goals in 70 games overall for the Canaries.

Despite his short and stocky stature as a number nine, Hooper was a prolific scorer during his time with Celtic and also had the ability to get his teammates into the game with a decent return of assists.

The numbers support Celtic’s decision to recruit Gelhardt.

If Rodgers signs Gelhardt, who is also 5 foot 9 and has a stocky physique, he might have a striker who has traits with the former Norwich star.

The 21-year-old Leeds player is far from perfect, and there’s no assurance that he’ll be an immediate hit at Parkhead this year. Nonetheless, there is a chance that he may become Hooper 2.0 if they can secure his permanent employment.

This season, Gelhardt has only made six appearances for the Whites in the Championship. He also played the second half of the 2022–2023 season on loan at Sunderland.

22/23 Championship	Joe Gelhardt (via Dailysport)
Appearances	18
Starts	16
Goals	Three
Assists	Three
Duel success rate	42%

The aforementioned table illustrates how difficult it was for the former England U20 international to consistently deliver quality as a creator or scorer for the Black Cats during the previous season.

Nonetheless, during his brief Premier League stint at Leeds in the beginning of his career, Gelhardt did exhibit promise. Despite only making 35 games as a starter, he amassed two goals and six assists.

However, Rodgers may be looking at the Celtic target’s youth record as evidence that he may become a deadly scorer for the team.

After netting five goals in five U18 games for Wigan, Gelhardt went on to score 20 goals and dish out six assists in 31 games for Leeds’ U21 team.

This indicates that prior to making a breakthrough in the main squad, the £14k-per-week striker—whose mobility was praised as “impressive” by journalist Josh Bunting—racked up 25 goals and six assists in 36 games with the youth team.

In contrast to Hooper’s tenure with Celtic, that is an average return on investment of one goal contribution every 1.16 matches.

Therefore, by completing a transfer for Gelhardt and assisting him in realising his full potential at the first team level, Rodgers may be able to uncover the side’s new prolific English marksman.

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