Celtic could have a second chance to bring in Sydney van Hooijdonk in the January transfer window as Bologna are ready to consider offers for the Serie A misfit.
With the Dutchman already facing an uphill battle establishing himself as Bologna’s number one centre-forward, he really could have done without Joshua Zirkzee rediscovering the golden touch which had Manuel Neuer singing his praises at Bayern Munich a couple of years ago.
Zirkzee has been in phenomenal form of late. Almost Berbatov-esque with his poise and finesse in the final third. As such, a January departure appears to be the only option left available to Sydney van Hooijdonk if the Celtic linked striker is to avoid spending the entirety of the season stuck on the sidelines.
Celtic like Sydney van Hooijdonk
Van Hooijdonk, son of former Hoops ace Pierre as you might have guessed, has not started a single Serie A game in 2023/24. In fact, he’s only played 41 minutes in Italy’s top flight.
And with Bologna eyeing Porto’s former West Ham United prospect Toni Martinez, Gazzetta dello Sport are indicating that Van Hoojdonk could be allowed to leave in pursuit of more regular action. Opportunity knocks for Celtic, then. Though whether Brendan Rodgers’ Premiership leaders revisit their £4 million-rated summer target remains to be seen (Il Resto del Carlino).
With Kyogo Furuhashi firmly established as Celtic’s number one through the middle and with Oh Hyeon-Gyu providing decent depth in reserve, it is certainly difficult to envisage a scenario in which Van Hooijdonk follows in his father’s footsteps and immediately nails down a spot in Rodgers’ first XI.
19 goals in one season at Heerenveen
Then again, a temporary spell at Heerenveen in 2022/23 is proof of what Van Hooijdonk can do when given regular minutes and regular service. An old-school, broad-shouldered throwback of a number nine, the Dutchman scored 19 times in a mid-table Eredivisie outfit, and would surely relish the pigging out at a table waited on by the likes of Matt O’Riley, Daizen Maeda and Luis Palma.
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