Rodgers would love Celtic to sign “world class” star for free

Do Celtic lack attacking firepower?

So far, Brendan Rodgers’ side have started the Premiership campaign with two wins out of two, albeit they’ve been made to work hard for these victories, requiring a late Luke McCowan strike to overcome St Mirren 1-0, before a 2-0 victory over Aberdeen at Pittodrie.

Only once since 2012 have the Hoops scored three goals or fewer across their opening two league fixtures, doing so in 2018, albeit they did then demolish Falkirk 4-1 in the League Cup on Friday night.

Nevertheless, ahead of Wednesday night’s season-defining Champions League play-off against Kairat at Parkhead, supporters are concerned that Rodgers’ squad lacks the top-end talent to compete at European level.

With that in mind, could the Scottish champions sign a “world-class” striker, available on a free, that Rodgers knows rather well?

Celtic’s need for attacking reinforcements

Since Rodgers returned to Celtic two summers ago, nine players have scored ten or more goals for the club, of whom four are no longer there, namely Kyōgo Furuhashi (31 goals), Nicolas Kühn (24), Matt O’Riley (19) and Luis Palma (10).

Adam Idah is on that list with 29 goals, second only to Daizen Maeda in the current squad, but the Republic of Ireland international is yet to get off the mark this season, with his compatriot Johnny Kenny given the nod on Friday night.

Following a fruitful loan spell, Idah’s move to Glasgow was made permanent for a humongous fee of £9.5m, but he has largely flattered to deceive since, so could Celtic target an upgrade during the remaining weeks of the transfer window?

Well, according to a report by the Scottish Sun, Rodgers ‘would love’ Celtic to sign free agent Jamie Vardy this summer.

They claim that the 38-year-old has ‘his heart set’ on a move to Parkhead, adding that the England international is a ‘model professional’ who ‘believes he can play week in week out’ at the highest level for another two years at least.

So, will the Vardy party relocate from the East Midlands to Glasgow’s East End?

What Jamie Vardy would bring to Celtic

Earlier this year, Vardy waved goodbye to Leicester City after 13 years with the Foxes, during which time he won a Premier League title and the FA Cup.

He marked his final appearance for the club with a goal against Southampton, thereby bowing out with 200 goals in exactly 500 appearances, very satisfying for fans of symmetry.

Overall, Vardy netted nine times in the Premier League last season, a more than respectable feat for a generally woeful Leicester team, this representing 36% of their total goals.

However, as documented below, it is Vardy’s exploits during the Foxes’ promotion-winning campaign from the EFL Championship the year before that provide the biggest cause for optimism.

As the table outlines, in the Championship, Vardy was prolific; the fact all 18 of his goals were scored inside the penalty area underlines his penalty-box poacher style of play, as does the fact his average shot distance was just 11.4 yards, so round about the penalty spot.

Also, impressively, these goals were scored from only 53 total shots, squandering a mere 16 Opta-defined big chances, emphasising that he still possesses that clinical edge.

Worth also noting that, according to Global Football Rankings, the EFL Championship is the seventh-best league in the world, while the Scottish Premiership is down in 27th, further suggesting Vardy would score goals for a dominant team in Scotland.

When the pair were together at Leicester, following a Premier League win over Arsenal in October 2020, Rodgers labelled Vardy a “world-class striker“, while then-Leicester boss Ruud van Nistelrooy described him as a “living legend” prior to his Foxes farewell.

So, would he represent an upgrade on Idah?

Well, the Irishman did score 20 goals across all competitions last season, but his highest-ever total in an EFL Championship campaign was six, exponentially fewer than Vardy.

So far this season, starting both Premiership fixtures against St Mirren and Aberdeen, Idah has had five shots but missed three big chances, yet to find the back of the net and failing to make much impact, which has to be a concern with tougher tests to come.

Thus, it is clear that Vardy would score goals at Premiership level, and in Europe too, so signing the Englishman appears to be a no-brainer.