Will Celtic spend big this summer?
A year ago, the Hoops broke their transfer record to bring in Arne Engels for £11m, but that was not all, also paying £9.5m to make Adam Idah’s loan move from Norwich permanent, with notable fees paid to sign Auston Trusty, Paulo Bernardo permanently and Luke McCowan too.
Nevertheless, Brendan Rodgers will want to improve his squad further in the upcoming transfer window, so does he have a “quality” new winger in his sights?
The latest on Jota's injury
As reported by Ewan Paton of the Herald, Rodgers confirmed in his Friday pre-Glasgow derby press conference that Jota will be sidelined for up to nine months, after suffering a knee injury against Dundee United on Saturday.
Just five minutes before the injury occurred, the Portuguese winger had helped the Hoops take the lead at Tannadice, it ultimately went down as a Ryan Strain own goal, but that will sadly be his final contribution for a while.
Jota had only rejoined Celtic as recently as January for £8m from Stade Rennais, making 16 appearances and scoring five goals, but now faces a long period on the sidelines.
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Given this injury blow, the Celts could be forced to enter the transfer market to recruit a new winger, so has Rodgers identified his top target?
Celtic's winger target to replace Jota
As was reported back in early April, Celtic are believed to be eyeing a move to sign Million Manhoef of EFL Championship outfit Stoke City.
The Dutch youth international joined the Potters in January last year from Vitesse Arnhem, costing a reported £3m, although a potential exit could lie in store this summer.
With that in mind, let’s assess his statistics.
Appearances
52
Minutes
3,431
Goals
11
Assists
5
Then Stoke manager Steven Schumacher praised Manhoef’s ability to run “towards goal, take people on, get shots away”, believing the 23-year-old will only continue to get better.
Meantime, Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout labels him “quality and versatile”, while Dean Jones of Give Me Sport notes that Manhoef is “the sort of player that will get fans out of their seats.”
The youngster has certainly earned plenty of praise, hence why journalist Graeme Bailey reports that he is now valued at £10m, so let’s assess how he ranks amongst his EFL Championship counterparts this season.
Appearances
34
185th
Minutes
2,422
170th
Goals
5
61st
Assists
5
27th
Shots on target %
35.6%
91st
Shots per 90
2.71
17th
Progressive carries
82
32nd
Progressive passes received
166
44th
Attempted take-ons
132
9th
Successful take-ons
52
13th
Take-on success % (min 100 attempted)
39.4%
19th
Carries into opposition penalty area
53
10th
Touches
1047
241st
As the table underlines, Manhoef is certainly a high-quality and high-quantity dribbler, ranking in the top ten for both attempted take-ons and carries into the opposition penalty area, despite limited touches and the fact he plays for a struggling Stoke side.
Worth noting that a whopping 758 outfield players have featured in England’s second-tier this season, making Manhoef’s high rankings all the more noteworthy.
The 23-year-old also ranks 17th when it comes to shots-per-90, which is pretty impressive, although his shots on target figure of just 35.6% means there is still room for development.
Nevertheless, with Stoke’s season having now finished, Celtic should start negotiations now, before anyone else becomes interested in securing Manhoef’s signature, given that it certainly appears as though he would be an excellent new recruit. He could be the perfect man to fill Jota’s void on the flanks.
Only played 66 minutes: Celtic can fix Jota blow by unleashing young star
With Jota set to be sidelined for an extended period of time, Brendan Rodgers should give Celtic’s “absolutely brilliant” youngster an opportunity.
ByBen GrayMay 2, 2025