The Hoops are reportedly interested in a deal to sign the full-back this summer.
Celtic can now turn their attention to the summer transfer window as they prepare to go again and fight for more trophies during the 2024/25 campaign.
The Hoops ended this season with two pieces of silverware added to the cabinet in Brendan Rodgers’ first year back at Parkhead, having returned last summer.
Ange Postecoglou left to join Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur and that opened the door for the Northern Irish boss to enter his second term in the dugout at Paradise.
The former Leicester City boss enjoyed a solid first season back at the club, winning the Scottish Premiership title and the SFA Cup ahead of Celtic’s closest rivals.
Rodgers could now use the upcoming summer transfer window to bolster his squad and win more than two trophies next term with the Scottish giants.
One area of the pitch that the club are reportedly looking to strengthen in is left-back, and the Hoops could land a dangerous partner for Daizen Maeda down the left flank by swooping for one of their targets.
Celtic interest in international full-back Georgian football account Geo Team on X recently named Celtic as one of a number of teams interested in a swoop to sign left-back Irakli Azarovi this summer.
The report claimed that Serie A and Ligue 1 teams are also tracking the Georgia international alongside the Premiership side, as per the player’s agent – Mamuka Jugeli.
However, there was no mention of how much it would cost to sign the young defender from Shakhtar Donetsk, or how much the Hoops are prepared to pay for his services.
The competition from Italy and France suggests that Rodgers and his team may need to move quickly if they do want to add him to their squad next season.
Back in March, TEAMtalk reported that the Hoops want to sign a left-back as a ‘priority’ in the upcoming transfer window, after they failed to land one in January to compete with Greg Taylor.
They also claimed that the Hoops could target a move for Wolverhampton Wanderers youngster Hugo Bueno, who could be another option for the Scottish side if they fail to sign Azarovi.
Rodgers and his team must now work to secure the Georgian talent’s signature over the coming weeks, or months, to bolster their left-back ranks, and add a potentially dangerous partner for Maeda on the flank.
Daizen Maeda’s season in numbers for Celtic The Japan international is an interesting player for the Scottish giants as he does not provide consistent or outstanding quality in the final third.
He does, however, offer exceptional work out of possession as Rodgers once claimed that putting him in the team is like having “two players” on the pitch, due to the work rate the forward puts in.
His fantastic running and closing down helps the Hoops to press opponents high up the pitch, and the best example of this came in the 3-3 draw with Rangers at Ibrox as the winger closed down James Tavernier and deflected the right-back’s clearances into the back of the net.
As you can see in the table above, Maeda has not offered regular quality at the top end of the pitch with just nine goal contributions in 28 matches in the Premiership.
The Japanese attacker ended the league campaign with six goals from an xG of 8.78, an underperformance of 2.78, and only Kyogo Furuhashi (-4.39) underperformed by more against his xG within the Celtic squad.
These statistics show that the 26-year-old rarely provides creativity, with one chance created every other game on average, and is a very wasteful finisher who does not make the most of the chances that are created for him by his teammates.
However, his work off the ball is seemingly key for Rodgers, per his comment, and that may be why the forward started 25 of his 28 league appearances.
It could, therefore, make sense for Celtic to ensure that they have an attack-minded left-back who can bomb on to offer creativity down the left flank, to make up for Maeda’s struggles in that department.
This is why Azarovi could be a shrewd addition to the squad this summer because of his ability to drive forward down the left to provide an attacking outlet.
Why Celtic should sign Irakli Azarovi Firstly, Taylor is the only natural, senior, left-back option in the Celtic team as it stands and the Georgia international would mean that Rodgers has competition for that position, rather than one player who is comfortable with their place in the side.
At the age of 22, Azarovi would also arrive as a talented prospect for the future who could be a long-term signing for the Hoops, as he has plenty of time on his side to develop and improve over the years to come.
In terms of what he can do on the pitch in the here and now, the young full-back, who video scout PanoScout on X hailed as “dangerous” in the final third, could offer a threat as a creative presence from left-back for the Hoops to make up for Maeda’s lack of creativity.
Azarovi has racked up 20 assists in 137 games at club level to date, which is a return of one every 6.85 matches on average, and that is slightly better than Taylor’s 25 assists in 173 appearances for Celtic in all competitions – one every 6.92 outings.
As you can see in the table above, the Georgia international produced 12 key passes in just six starts in the European Championship qualifiers, and completed more than one dribble per match.
He also made 0.7 key passes per game and completed 1.2 dribbles, with a success rate of 70%, per outing across 22 appearances in the Premier League for Shakhtar this season.
This means that Azarovi made more key passes and completed dribbles per game than Maeda did in the Premiership with Celtic this term, with 0.5 and 1.1 respectively.
Therefore, the 5 foot 10 dynamo could be a fantastic and ‘dangerous’ partner for the Japan international next season due to his ability to drive past opposition players before creating chances for his teammates, which are two areas that the forward lacks in down the left.
