An update has emerged on Celtic and their plans to bolster their squad following the appointment of Brendan Rodgers as their new head coach.
What’s the latest on Marco Tilio to Celtic?
According to the Daily Record, the Hoops are closing in on a deal to sign Melbourne City winger Marco Tilio ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.
The report claims that the Glasgow-based side have agreed a fee with the A-League outfit and they will now discuss personal terms with the player and organise a medical in the hope of making him the second signing of the summer, following on from Odin Thiago Holm's arrival from Valerenga.
This comes after the Daily Mail reported that head of recruitment Mark Lawwell used his relationship with the City Group to target the Australian, with the Scottish giants now pursuing his signature.
Would Marco Tilio be a good signing for Celtic?
The 21-year-old ace could be a terrific addition to Rodgers’ squad as the young forward has the potential to be a big upgrade on current Hoops wide man Daizen Maeda.
In the 2022/23 Scottish Premiership campaign, the Japan international averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.78 across 35 matches and contributed in the final third with eight goals and five assists, whilst he also missed 11 ‘big chances’.
The Celtic winger created 0.8 chances per game for his teammates – which placed him 15th in the squad – something that does not suggest the 25-year-old was a regular source of creativity for Ange Postecoglou.
Tilio, on the other hand, averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.02 across 29 A-League outings, showing that the young ace has the potential to perform at a higher level week-in-week-out, and chipped in with ten goals and five assists.
The Melbourne dynamo produced 1.1 key passes per match for his fellow attackers and only missed seven ‘big chances’ himself, indicating that he would provide more creativity than the current Hoops attacker.
Their respective goal returns, and conversion rate of 'big chances', also suggest that Tilio has the quality to be more ruthless in front of goal.
Maeda was certainly wasteful with the opportunities he had in the Premiership with the forward missing more 'big chances' than he scored goals. Therefore, signing the Australia international could improve the goal output of the team from the wide positions.
With Tilio once being described as a "playmaker" by talent scout Jacek Kulig, he could well be a big upgrade on the Japanese frontman in the final third and, as a result, be an exceptional signing for Rodgers this summer.
