Celtic are reportedly keen on signing Franco Di Santo.
Celtic may well have to prepare for life without Moussa Dembele, and links to a new striker emerged over the weekend as a result.
Dembele, 21, has hit 40 goals in 70 games for Celtic, and with Premier League clubs thought to be interested in landing him, the Bhoys may need to think about replacements this month.
The Mirror subsequently reported over the weekend that Celtic are now keen on Schalke hitman Franco Di Santo, in what would be something of a surprise move for many fans.
Whilst Dembele is young, athletic, exciting and full of goals, Di Santo is now 28 and has scored just four goals in 52 Bundesliga games for Schalke, meaning they are hardly like-for-like replacements.
If there is one factor which may explain Celtic’s interest though, it’s that manager Brendan Rodgers worked with Di Santo at Chelsea, coaching him in the youth ranks at Stamford Bridge following his 2008 move from Audax Italiano.
Rodgers has shown a tendency to sign players he has worked with previously; Dorus De Vries, Kolo Toure and Scott Sinclair all joined Celtic having played under Rodgers before, whilst the likes of Joe Allen and Fabio Borini have also played for Rodgers at more than one club.
In fact, The Mirror reported back in December 2012 that Rodgers wanted to bring Di Santo to Liverpool after impressing with Wigan Athletic, and more than five years on, a reunion could finally be on the cards.
The Argentinian may not be a particularly exciting target for Celtic, but given his relationship with Rodgers and the prior interest from the Bhoys boss, he at least makes sense as a potential Rodgers target this month.
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