Brendan Rodgers looks to be making his first serious move into the transfer market with Football Scotland revealing that Gremio striker Ferreira is a possible £6m target for the new Celtic boss.
Moves for Odin Thiago Holm and Marco Tilio were well underway before Rodgers took over from Ange Postecoglou with heavy speculation that the Korean duo of Hyun-jun Yang and Kwon Hyeok-kyu are well on their way to joining up with Oh Hyeon-gyu.
Under Postecoglou Celtic almost always played with just one striker with Kyogo Furuhashi the undoubted first choice.
Both Kyogo and Oh could be on duty at the Asian Cup in January and February next year while another forward would open up the possibility of a return to playing with two strikers.
Football Scotland reports:
Celtic have approached Gremio over Brazilian attacker Ferreira, Football Scotland understands.
The forward, 25, is considered one of his club’s most valuable assets in the transfer market but fits the profile of the type of player the Hoops are looking for this summer. After losing Jota for £25million to Al-Ittihad, Brendan Rodgers is on the lookout for a new flair player who can produce both goals and assists and Ferreira is seen as an ideal candidate.
Celts would likely have to spend around £6million in order to land the tricky striker but that would be unlikely to cause too many issues as the club provided their manager with a war chest for the coming campaign. Football Scotland can reveal that early feelers have been put out to gauge Gremio’s asking price but it is believed the player wants the move.
Ferreira’s current contract with Gremio runs out in 2024 and that could mean they’ll have to cash-in on their asset to avoid losing him for nothing down the line. There are MLS clubs interested in the player after Atlanta failed to land his signature back in 2021.
The report was written by Mark Hendry who seems to have some decent contacts inside Celtic highlighted by his exclusive last year about interest in Alexandro Bernabei, the first Argentinian to play for Celtic.
At the age of 25 and costing £6m Ferreira certainly doesn’t fall into the project category of the other signings made so far this summer.
During his first spell in charge of Celtic Rodgers mainly played with one striker who was supported by the high scoring threats from Scott Sinclair, Stuart Armstrong and Tom Rogic.
After two training ground matches against Portimonense last week Celtic fans will get their first look at the impact Rodgers has had when the hoops take on Yokohama F Marinos at 11am Celtic Park Time on Wednesday.
With Yokohama in mid-season and temperatures in the mid-thirties Wednesday’s match will provide a tough test for the visitors who also face Gamba Osaka on Saturday before they return to Scotland with a week to prepare for facing Wolves in Dublin.
Not much news has came out of the club in pre-season other than Mikey Johnston, Marco Tilio and Alistair Johnston joining Cameron Carter-Vickers on the injured list.
With Jota sold and Aaron Mooy retiring the two matches in Japan will provide Rodgers with an opportunity to assess the depth of the squad that he has inherited from Postecoglou with defence a particular issue without two first picks in Johnston and Carter-Vickers who will both miss the start of the season.
With less than three weeks to go until the start of the SPFL followed quickly by matches at Pittodrie and Ibrox the new manager will be looking to add quality and strength to what is now his squad.
CLICK HERE for Ferreira’s Transfermarkt profile.
