Exclusive: Americans prepare new bid for Celtic star striker Kyogo

ATLANTA United are considering a fresh approach to sign Celtic striker Kyogo Furuhashi.

Willing to pay a sum in the region of £10million to land the Japanese talisman in the summer window, the MLS club were offered no encouragement.

However, with two designated player slots vacant ahead of the new season in February, the ambitious outfit are in the market for a marquee centre-forward.

Reports in Portugal state that talks with Benfica about a move for Brazilian Arthur Cabral have hit a stumbling block over the price. And Mail Sport understands Furuhashi remains on a list of targets.

Former Parkhead boss Ronny Deila was confirmed as the club’s new head coach last week. After landing former Inter Miami executive Chris Henderson as their new chief soccer officer, CEO Garth Lagerwey promised more big moves in the new year.

‘We promised that we were going to remake the club,’ he said. ‘This is the first big one and there’ll be more to come to make this better in 2025.’

Kyogo has struggled this season, with only six league goals to his name so far

The designated player is a roster slot allocated to high-level players who earn significantly more than the average MLS player. Furuhashi is currently tied to a new £20,000-a-week four-year deal which runs until the summer of 2027. Although linked with a switch to Manchester City last summer, the strongest interest came from Atlanta — with Celtic unwilling to sell ahead of another tilt at the Champions League.

Signed by Ange Postecoglou, Furuhashi made a blistering start to life in Glasgow, scoring 34 goals in all competitions before hitting the net 19 times last season. His tally for the current campaign is eight goals from 24 appearances, with six of his goals in the Premiership.

While an eight-figure offer would give Celtic a decision to make over a player who turns 30 on January 20, the Parkhead club need their top men as they aim for another domestic clean sweep. With qualification for the play-off stage of the Champions League set to be decided in the final weeks of January, they would be reluctant sellers.

Rodgers held a transfer planning summit with major shareholder Dermot Desmond and chief executive Michael Nicholson in Dublin last week, when they discussed new arrivals in January.

A left-winger is a priority. Regardless of whether left-back Greg Taylor commits to a new deal, Rodgers would also like to secure Kieran Tierney for a Parkhead return.

Effectively a free agent in the summer, the Arsenal player has already drawn strong interest from major clubs in England and abroad.

Insisting he’ll be the last to know if a deal with his former team-mate is happening, Celtic captain Callum McGregor said: ‘He’s a quality player. I’ve been in the wars with him for a number of years now.

‘I’ve not spoken to him yet but I have seen all the stuff that’s been written. I don’t know too much about it, but we’re generally the last ones to know.

Former Celtic manager Ronny Deila is interested in taking Kyogo to Atlanta

Kieran Tierney has been linked with a return move to former club Celtic

‘When someone appears in the building, then we’ll go and meet them. We’ll see what happens.’

Sunday’s 0-0 draw at Dundee United illustrated there is scope for improvement in the Celtic squad, after Nicolas Kuhn, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Auston Trusty and Alistair Johnston all missed out through injury or illness.

McGregor added: ‘In every window, we do look to strengthen. Naturally, being at a big club, there’s always competition for places.

‘Come January, we might have a few new faces in and that’ll push the group even further and the squad will get stronger.

‘We’ll see what happens, but it’s always good to have new faces to push everyone as well.’

Central defender Stephen Welsh is keen to secure more first-team football and is a target for Belgian club KV Mechelen.