It is no secret that Celtic need to strengthen their forward ranks this summer. The club were already found wanting last season, having managed 39 goals less than the previous Premiership campaign.

Even that was enough to secure the league title. But Celtic cannot afford to think that will continue to be the case. There was a touch of luck to the most recent Premiership triumph. Hearts could not finish the job, while the Rangers were poor throughout. Eventually, it took just 82 points from the Hoops to secure the title, merely five more than what they gathered in the nightmare 20/21 season.

The standards are much higher at Celtic, let's just say that. And with the uncertainty around the futures of Daizen Maeda and Kelechi Iheanacho in the background, it is absolutely necessary to bring in some quality up top.

It is also worth mentioning that Tomas Cvancara and Junior Adamu have left at the end of their respective loan spells. While they were not contributing much, at least, they did provide Martin O'Neill with options if the situation did present itself.

So, expect Celtic to go out looking for strikers this summer. And it looks like a former Real Madrid striker is on their radar, even though there is heavy competition for his signature.

According to Pietro Celeste, Bologna are evaluating Alvaro Rodriguez. There is competition from Celtic, Bournemouth, Ajax and Feyenoord.

Rodriguez came through the ranks at Castilla and played 10 senior games for Real Madrid, scoring just once.

Eventually, he joined Elche last summer. Rodriguez scored seven goals and provided five assists in 34 La Liga games in the previous campaign.

That is not a bad return. In fact, it was vital, as Elche finished 15th in the La Liga table, just one point above relegation. So, if not for Rodriguez's contributions, they probably would have been relegated.

There is more to it than just the numbers as well. Rodriguez is 21 years of age and will add size to Celtic's forward line, if he does arrive.

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Of course, with the amount of competition for Rodriguez's signature, it would not come as a surprise if a move does not materialise. Rarely have we seen Celtic come out on top when it comes to transfer races.

Obviously, he is not the only striker to be linked with Celtic lately. Another name is that of French forward Elias Filet.

He scored 22 goals last season. But Filet does play in the Swiss second division and does not have Rodriguez's pedigree by any stretch of the imagination.

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