Celtic manager Wilfried Nancy’s difficult start to life in Glasgow continued with a disappointing 2-0 defeat to Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership on Tuesday night.
The Hoops are three points behind Hearts in the race for the title and could be level on points with Rangers if they lose the Old Firm clash on Saturday.
Celtic have lost five of their seven matches under the former Columbus Crew head coach, including the League Cup final to St Mirren, but the January transfer window opens for business on Thursday, providing him with a chance to bring in his own players.
Right-back Julian Araujo is reportedly expected to sign for the Hoops on loan from Premier League side Bournemouth, with the two clubs in talks, but he is not the only star who could make the move to Parkhead.
Prolific attacker interested in Celtic transfer
Nancy has not had a quality first-choice centre-forward available yet for Celtic, as Johnny Kenny has missed four ‘big chances’ without scoring under him, and Daizen Maeda blanked against Motherwell, and there is a striker who is keen on a move to the club.
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According to the Daily Record, the Hoops head coach wants to bring in four new players to bolster his squad in the January transfer window.
The report claims that he wants to sign a right-back, a right-winger, a centre-back, and a centre-forward ahead of the second half of the campaign, with the hope that those additions will help to improve the effectiveness of his new 3-4-2-1 system.
It adds that Columbus Crew striker Diego Rossi is interested in a reunion with Nancy at Parkhead, although it does not explicitly state that Celtic are interested in signing him.
The Daily Record does reveal, though, that it would take a ‘major offer’ from the Scottish giants to convince the MLS side to part ways with the versatile forward next month.
Why Celtic should sign Diego Rossi
The Premiership champions should take advantage of Rossi’s reported interest in a transfer to the club by swooping for his services, because he could be Nancy’s own version of Kyogo Furuhashi.
No Celtic striker has scored 15 goals or more in the Premiership since the Japan international plundered 27 goals in the division during the 2022/23 campaign, per WhoScored, after Adam Idah scored 13 last term.
The former Hoops star scored 34 goals in all competitions for the club that season, and the club are still looking for their successor to the prolific Japanese star in the number nine position.
Rossi’s statistics for Columbus Crew, whilst playing for Nancy, in the last two years suggest that he is a player who has the quality to be a prolific scorer who can finally replace Kyogo at Parkhead, if the club can agree a deal to sign him next month.
The Uruguay international ended the 2025 campaign with a return of 19 goals and five assists in 37 appearances in all competitions for the American side, per Sofascore, which included 16 goals in the MLS.
2025 MLS
Diego Rossi
Rank vs STs
xG
13.96
Top 4%
Goals
16
Top 3%
xG on target
16.24
Top 3%
Shots on target
47
Top 3%
xA
6.46
Top 13%
Assists
4
Top 31%
Stats via FotMob
As you can see in the table above, Rossi scored those 16 league goals from an xG of just 13.96, which shows that he is an efficient scorer who rarely passes up a big opportunity to find the back of the net.
Meanwhile, Johnny Kenny has scored four goals from 6.02 xG and Daizen Maeda has scored six goals from 7.02 xG in the Premiership for Celtic this season, per FotMob, showing that Nancy does not have efficient finishers in the final third at this moment in time.
Rossi’s form in 2025 suggests that he would come in to offer a clinical presence that has been lacking since Kyogo left to sign for Rennes at the start of the year, but his performances for the MLS side in 2025 are not a flash in the pan.
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The 27-year-old star, who was hailed as “unselfish” by former boss Bob Bradley, also caught the eye in the 2024 campaign with a brilliant return of 21 goals from 13.99 xG in 48 appearances in all competitions, per Sofascore.
These statistics show that Rossi has been prolific and efficient in the last two full seasons with Columbus Crew, scoring 40 goals across the two campaigns combined, which suggests that he has the potential to be the reliable number nine that Celtic lack.
The versatile forward, who can play as the nine or as one of the number tens behind the striker, also produced those performances for Nancy at his current club, and that means that he could hit the ground running at Parkhead under a manager he already knows incredibly well.
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Therefore, Celtic should be looking to get a deal over the line for the Columbus Crew centre-forward when the January transfer window opens for business.