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Celtic have multiple needs heading into the 2025 summer transfer window, no doubt. Many of them reside in the forward areas of the pitch, at winger and forward, but they also need to invest in the midfield and potentially in the defensive depth as well.
While they have solid starters across the board at many positions, injuries have really knocked things back a bit, especially with Reo Hatate and Jota being out long-term.
While internal options may be suitable to fix the issues in the near future, there are plenty of potential solutions when it comes to the transfer market as well.
One of the most intriguing components of this window is that there is a substantial number of players out of contract who could be set to leave their clubs, even more so than in other years, seemingly.
One of the players who Celtic could look to help their winger dilemma is Javi Puado from Espanyol, a 26-year-old player who has put up some impressive numbers this season, but has just never quite put it together.
He would be a really fun complement to Daizen Maeda due to their skillsets matching up quite nicely, and could be a bargain option for the Hoops to stave off any issues until Jota returns.
Could Puado be Celtic's Solution on the Wing?
Puado is a very specific type of talent when it comes to what he is truly good at, as he is not a "jack of all trades" type of player, but rather a specialist. The best part of his entire game is his ability to move the offence forward, both through passing and progressive runs.
According to FBRef, he is 87th percentile in progressive carries (2.22 per 90), 86th percentile in pass completion percentage (76.8%), and 74th percentile in progressive passes (2.22 per 90). The only other two components of his game where he ranks above average is in successful take-ons (56th percentile - 0.66 per 90) and tackles (53rd percentile - 0.66 per 90).
This would fit in rather flawlessly with the Celtic offence, as he would be able to push the pace for the club and feed the ball forwards.
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