One of Celtic’s biggest priorities this summer will be to replace those who have exited Parkhead.
Unfortunately, the Hoops could suffer some pretty big casualties when the window does indeed open.
Kristoffer Ajer has been watched by teams in England while Odsonne Edouard is nearing a move down south as well.
On the chalkboard
If Edouard departs then it will leave Celtic bereft of much quality in attack. Consider Mohamed Elyounoussi is leaving as well and it starves them of even more goals in the final third.
Therefore, the Bhoys will no doubt consider this to be an important area to strengthen and it would appear work is already taking place behind the scenes.
One report states that Celtic are interested in signing Honduran forward Alberth Elis.
The attacker has been on their radar for a while now with former Hoops defender Emilio Izaguirre recommending Celtic to the 25-year-old last summer.
“Alberth is a very good friend of mine and I spoke with him about Celtic,” the left-back began.
"He's a very good, fast player. He's very fast and strong and he's good in the air. He's played a lot of football and is good on the ball. A lot of players in Honduras would like to play for Celtic because it's a big opportunity to play in Europe and play for trophies. Celtic is a big club, the biggest in Scotland,” Izaguirre concluded.
It would appear the Bhoys are beginning to act on that appeal.
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According to reports from Portugal (via Daily Record), Celtic are one of a number of teams interested in signing the 42-cap forward from Boavista.
The Glaswegian’s will have to beat away competition from Brighton and Watford to lure him to Scotland.
They may also have to stump up a pretty sizeable sum of money with £8.5m being touted for his services.
Whether or not Elis would be worth that amount depends on the type of profile Celtic are looking for. The first thing to tick off the checklist is that he plays in similar roles to Elyounoussi.
He can play through the middle as a centre-forward or on either flank. Similarly to Elyounoussi, he can also score and create on a regular basis.
Elis’ first campaign in European football saw him register eight goals and seven assists. That’s a handy tally for someone who boasts traits that strike fear into opponents.
The Honduras international is blessed with incredible pace, something that ensures he can beat his man with great consistency.
On top of that, he is powerful in the air, winning 2.2 aerial duels in the top-flight of Portuguese football this term.
That would add an intriguing element to Celtic’s forward line with no attacking player in the green and white winning more than Elyounoussi’s 1.5 aerial duels per game.
With that in mind, he could be more of a threat than the Norwegian was this term. Of course, he’ll have to go a long way to replicating the Southampton man’s 17 strikes but it would be a shrewd move from Dominic McKay.