Celtic are set to be extremely busy in the closing hours of the transfer market.

After failing to qualify for the Champions League this week, dumped out by Kairat on penalties in the play-off round, Brendan Rodgers is demanding signings ahead of a Europa League campaign.

Well, he has so far got his wish, with winger Michel-Ange Balikwisha arriving from Royal Antwerp for £5m, while left-back Marcelo Saracchi has also joined on a season-long loan from Boca Juniors, with a £2m option to buy.

However, Celtic supporters' main focus remains the striker situation, so could the Celts land their number one target, a forward reminiscent of Giorgos Giakoumakis?

Celtic's search for a striker

Somewhat out of nowhere, as reported by various sources, Swansea City have agreed to sign Adam Idah for £7m.

The Republic of Ireland international only joined Celtic permanently for £9.5m last summer, but has yet to nail down a regular starting spot, hooked at half time of the miserable Champions League first leg against Kairat at Parkhead.

Idah successfully completed a medical in South Wales on Friday, but will only be allowed to leave if the Hoops secure a replacement.

So, as reported by the Herald, Celtic's first-choice target to be just that is Kasper Dolberg.

The Hoops' opening bid has been rejected, with Anderlecht valuing the Danish international at around £8m, with the Celts 'yet to match' this valuation, after initial talks.

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

The Belgian club are, somewhat, under pressure to sell, having crashed out of the Conference League on Thursday, beaten 2-0 by AEK Athens, but are 'reluctant' to lose their star attacker, so will Celtic make an offer that satisfies the record-34-times Belgian champions?

What Kasper Dolberg would bring to Celtic

Still only 27 years old, it feels like Dolberg - who Peter Bosz once claimed can "become absolute world-class" - has been around forever.

The Dane first burst onto the scene at Ajax, scoring an impressive 45 goals in 119 appearances for the Amsterdam-based giants, a key figure in the side that reached the Europa League Final in 2017 and the Champions League semi-finals two years later.

This form earned him a big-money move to Nice in the summer of 2019 but, despite scoring 11 Ligue 1 goals during his first season in the French Riviera, he did not live up to expectations.

He was shipped out on loan to Sevilla and then Hoffenheim, scoring no goals for los Nervionenses and just two in the colours of die Kraichgauer, but has really rediscovered his best form since moving to Anderlecht two summers ago.

Kasper Dolberg for Denmark.

In 95 appearances for the Purple and Whites, Dolberg has accumulated 44 goals, only two players bettered his tally of 18 in last season's Jupiler Pro League, scoring five goals already this season, on target against Häcken, Sheriff Tiraspol and AEK Athens in UEFA qualifiers.

His form in Brussels has also seen Dolberg work his way back into the international picture, likely to be leading the line for Denmark against Scotland in a World Cup qualifier next Friday night.

So which Celtic striker from the not-too-distant past would Dolberg be reminiscent of?

Well, like the Dane, Giakoumakis joined Celtic in his mid-20s, having bounced around various European clubs, as the table below documents.

As the table notes, Dolberg in the present day has achieved far more in his career than Giakoumakis had when he was signed by Ange Postecoglou in August 2021.

Giakoumakis

Well, the Greek international made quite the impact at Parkhead, scoring 26 times in Hoops, averaging a goal every 97 minutes, picking up the Premiership golden boot during his sole full-season in Glasgow.

Thus, if Dolberg could replicate anything like that, he would be a roaring success, surely representing a major upgrade on the outgoing Idah.