Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers returned to Parkhead last summer to replace Ange Postecoglou for his second stint in the dugout in Glasgow.
The Northern Irishman had left Leicester City earlier in the year and was free to make the move back up to Scotland, after the Australian boss moved down south to join Tottenham Hotspur.
Rodgers enjoyed a relatively successful first season back at Paradise as he secured his second trophy of the campaign at Hampden Park on Saturday, beating Rangers 1-0 in the SFA Cup final.
The ex-Liverpool boss also guided the Hoops to the Scottish Premiership title and he will now look ahead to the summer transfer window to bolster his squad ahead of next term, when he will hope to add even more silverware to his cabinet.
It was recently reported that the Bhoys manager is already eyeing up a new signing to add to the group, with a reunion with one of his former Leicester City stars on the cards.
Celtic's interest in former Leicester enforcer
According to recent reports from Ghana, as relayed by The Scottish Sun, the Hoops are lining up a swoop to sign defensive midfielder Daniel Amartey.
The former Foxes enforcer currently plays for Besiktas in Turkey and the Scottish giants are said to be looking at him as a possible addition to their midfield in the upcoming summer transfer window.
Journalist and agent Gürkan Borangil has also claimed that Celtic are keen on the 29-year-old battler and added that Rodgers has told the Celtic board that he would like to sign him, whilst the reporter also revealed that it could take a fee within the region of €4m (£3.4m) to secure his services.
However, it remains to be seen how much the Hoops are willing to pay for the central midfielder, who can also play as a centre-back, or if they are ready to submit a bid for him yet.
Last summer, reporter Ibrahim Sannie Daara claimed that Amartey turned down an approach from Celtic to complete a move to Besiktas from Leicester, as they had put a better offer on the table for the experienced ace.
The Bhoys could now make up for missing out on him last year by completing a deal to sign the former Premier League gem from the Super Lig side this time around.
If Rodgers and his recruitment team can get a move over the line for Amartey then they could land an upgrade on current midfielder Tomok Iwata.
Tomoki Iwata's emergence for Celtic
The Japan international may have feared that his Celtic career was over after the manager decided to bolster his options in midfield last summer.
Iwata had only played 13 times in the Scottish Premiership under Postecoglou during the 2022/23 campaign and was already behind Matt O'Riley, Callum McGregor, and Reo Hatate in the pecking order.
Rodgers then brought in Hyeok-kyu Kwon, Paulo Bernardo, and Odin Thiago Holm to add more depth to the middle of the park, which may have left the 27-year-old gem fearing the worst.
However, he ended the 2023/24 Premiership season with more minutes played than all three of them for Celtic, and only 62 fewer minutes than Hatate, in 19 appearances.
Iwata started nine league matches, three more than in the previous campaign, and enjoyed mixed success on the pitch with his play in and out of possession.
Appearances
19
Pass accuracy
90%
Key passes per game
0.4
Ground duel success rate
51%
Aerial duel success rate
47%
As you can see in the table above, the Japanese ace was a reliable passer but rarely provided creativity with his use of the ball, with less than one key pass every other game.
He also left a bit to be desired with his work out of possession as the midfielder only just won the majority of his ground duels, and was bettered more times than not in aerial contests.
Overall, these statistics suggest that Iwata was a solid, but unspectacular, performer in the middle of the park for the Scottish giants, which was reflected in his role in the squad, as he featured in half of the games and did not start in 29 of them.
Why Celtic should sign Daniel Amartey
Rodgers must now push ahead with a deal to reunite with Amartey at Parkhead as the former Leicester titan has the potential to provide a stronger presence in midfield.
His strength could be particularly useful in the Champions League, or any other European competition the Hoops end up in, when the team are not expected to dominate the ball and will need to be strong defensively to keep the opposition at bay.
Iwata, as shown in his aforementioned statistics, is not a brick wall in midfield and does have the potential to be bullied by opposition players, as shown by his 50% duel success rate overall in the league.
Appearances
19
18
Duel success rate
50%
64%
Aerial duel success rate
47%
73%
Clearances per game
0.6
2.8
Ball recoveries per game
3.7
3.8
Dribbled past per game
0.1
0.1
As you can see in the table above, Amartey offered far more than the Celtic lightweight out of possession at league level this season, with a much greater success rate in general, and particularly in the air.
The Ghana international's strength was also on display in the Premier League during the 2022/23 campaign as he won 59% of his duels, and 62% of his battles on the ground, across 20 appearances for Leicester, which shows that he can do it at the top level.
Amartey, whose attitude was once hailed as "first class" by Rodgers, also completed 91% of his passes in the English top-flight that term and 90% of them in the Super Lig this year.
This suggests that the 6 foot 1 brute has similar passing quality to Iwata, as they are both reliable with their use of the ball without being particularly creative, but dominates the Japanese dud when it comes to the physical side of the game.
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Therefore, Rodgers and Celtic could land an upgrade on their current option at the base of the midfield by landing a deal for Amartey, who could be a fantastic, strong, defensive midfielder to call upon in big matches.
