Celtic are in the market to add a new centre-forward to Martin O’Neill’s squad before the January transfer window slams shut at the start of next month.
Daizen Maeda has been playing out of position as a centre-forward in recent weeks, with just one goal in his last six matches, and the arrival of a striker would allow him to go back to playing out wide.
One player who has been linked with a move to Parkhead this month has been West Ham United outcast Callum Wilson, who could be on his way out of the London Stadium.
However, O’Neill suggested in his press conference on Friday that the Hoops are looking elsewhere in their search for a new number nine, as interest in the England international was ‘news’ to him.
This suggests that Wilson will not end up at Parkhead by the time that the transfer window comes to a close, and that may not be such a bad thing.
Why Celtic should avoid a deal for Callum Wilson
Wilson is an experienced Premier League goalscorer who has outperformed his xG of 3.6 with four goals in the English top-flight this season, per FBref, which suggests that he would be a quality addition for Celtic.
Whilst that is true, as he has proven himself to be an efficient goalscorer at an incredibly high level, the Scottish giants may be avoiding a deal for a good reason.
The 33-year-old centre-forward’s injury record in recent seasons indicates that Celtic would be taking a huge risk if they brought him in to be their main number nine, as he has consistently missed far too many matches.
Callum Wilson’s injury record
Season
Games missed
25/26
0
24/25
29
23/24
28
22/23
9
21/22
30
20/21
18
Stats via Transfermarkt
As you can see in the table above, this season has been an outlier for him in terms of availability, as he was absent on a regular basis during his time with Newcastle United.
That is why Celtic should turn their attention to one of their other reported targets, as there is one who would be an even better signing than Wilson.
The striker Celtic should sign instead of Wilson
With the January transfer window in full flow, plenty of names have been flung around in relation to Celtic’s search for a new striker, but there is one that stands out as a particularly interesting one.
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The Scottish Premiership giants reportedly held talks with Celje to sign centre-forward Franko Kovacevic earlier this week, as they look to add more firepower to O’Neill’s side.
It is now down to the board to get a deal over the line for the Croatian marksman before the end of the window, because he would be an even better signing than Wilson for the Hoops.
Celje president Varerij Kolotilo recently described Kovacevic as “the best European ‘striker’”, and you can understand why he made such a comment when you look at the prolific marksman’s record.
The Celtic transfer target has scored a staggering 25 goals in 28 matches in all competitions for the Slovenian outfit, per Transfermarkt, which includes 12 goals in 13 matches in European competitions.
Global top goalscorers in 25/26 (all comps)
Player
Goals
Harry Kane
31
Kylian Mbappe
29
Jorge Rivera
28
Erling Haaland
26
Chrigor Moraes
26
Brian Healy
26
Franko Kovacevic
25
Kevin Hernandez
25
Vangelis Pavlidis
24
Bissoli
24
Stats via Transfermarkt
As you can see in the table above, only six players in the world have scored more goals than Kovacevic in the 2025/26 campaign, including world-class players like Erling Haaland, Harry Kane, and Kylian Mbappe.
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This illustrates just how impressive his goalscoring has been for Celje this season, and why he would be an even better addition than Wilson, who has only scored four league goals since the start of last term.
On top of his impressive goalscoring record, Kovacevic has also only missed nine matches through injury since the start of the 2020/21 campaign in all competitions, per Transfermarkt, which shows that he is not prone to injuries.
This means that the Croatian star could be far more reliable for Celtic, in terms of both his availability and his quality in front of goal, than Wilson.
Celtic have held talks "in the last 48hrs" to sign a £2.6m upgrade on Maeda
Celtic are reportedly eyeing up a deal to sign a prolific striker who would be an upgrade on Daizen Maeda.
ByDan Emery
That is why the board must push to get a deal over the line for the incredibly prolific star in the coming days, as he has the potential to be an excellent signing for the club.