The summer transfer window officially opened for business earlier this month and Celtic have already completed their first new signing.
Odin Thiago Holm arrived on a five-year deal from Norwegian side Valerenga last week and Brendan Rodgers now has over two months left to make further additions to his squad.
One area of the pitch in which the Hoops are looking to strengthen in is the forward department, as they search for a third option alongside Kyogo Furuhashi and Hyeon-gyu Oh.
Hacken number nine Benie Traore is a reported transfer target for Celtic and would cost a fee in the region of £5m if they were to snap him up before the deadline, as per journalist Alan Nixon's Patreon (25/06/2023).
Would Benie Traore be a good signing for Celtic?
The Ivorian marksman has the potential to be an exceptional addition to Rodgers’ squad and could be an immediate upgrade on Oh, who only joined the club in January of this year.
It is impossible to guarantee that the 20-year-old prospect will be able to translate his form over to Scottish football but his statistics this year suggest that it is a gamble worth taking for Celtic.
Traore has averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.25 across 13 Swedish top-flight outings in 2023, which would have placed him third in the Hoops squad for average league ratings during the 2022/23 campaign.
Oh, on the other hand, averaged a rating of 6.81 after 16 Scottish Premiership appearances and ranked 21st in the team.
The South Korean marksman scored six goals and missed five ‘big chances’ in front of goal in those matches, while the Hacken ace has plundered 12 goals to go along with six missed ‘big chances’ this year.
These statistics indicate that Rodgers could secure a more prolific player in comparison to the ex-Bluewings forward by signing the exciting "jewel" – as he was dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig.
Traore could also provide more creativity from the number nine position as the 20-year-old prospect has created 1.4 chances per match this term, while no Celtic striker managed more than Oh’s 0.4 key passes per outing in the 2022/23 season.
This suggests that the 5 foot 8 dynamo could be better at bringing his teammates into the game by presenting them with opportunities to score themselves, instead of only being in the team as a pure finisher.
Therefore, Rodgers would land an immediate upgrade on Oh by striking a deal for Traore in the coming weeks, based on their respective form at the top end of the pitch this year.