Rodgers' own Nakamura: Celtic plotting move to sign "free kick specialist"
da supremo： Celtic’s busy summer transfer activity continues, but a fair few more signings will be required before they commence their Scottish Premiership title defence against St Mirren in just three weeks’ time.
da fazobetai： On Friday, it was confirmed that Nicolas Kühn had joined Como for a reported fee of £16.4m, one of the biggest sales in the club’s history.
Following the departure of Kyōgo Furuhashi in January, that is an enormous number of goals that have been taken out of Brendan Rodgers’ team in 2025, hence why they are in the market for attacking reinforcements.
Celtic's search for a striker
Few players in Celtic’s modern history are as universally beloved as Shunsuke Nakamura, who played for the club between 2005 and 2009.
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This is largely due to the fact that, as noted by content creator Jack Kenmare, the Japanese international is considered to be amongst the best free-kick takers of all-time.
During the 2006/07 season, Nakamura scored free-kicks home and away against Manchester United in the Champions League, including the only goal of a famous 1-0 win at Parkhead, before his free-kick at Rugby Park against Kilmarnock, coming in stoppage time no less, secured the title later in the campaign.
So now, could Celtic be about to land a brand-new dead-ball specialist?
Well, according to a report by Pete O’Rourke of Football Insider, Celtic are attempting to sign Giuseppe Ambrosino on a season-long loan from Napoli, alongside another more proven forward.
The 21-year-old has been with Napoli since the age of ten, but is yet to make a senior appearance for I Partenopei, loaned out to Como, Cittadella, Catanzaro and most recently Frosinone, scoring five goals as I Giallazzurri finished 15th in Serie B.
Thus, a move to Celtic would be a big step-up for Ambrosino, but he could prove to be a useful addition.
Why Celtic supporters should be excited about Giuseppe Ambrosino
As the table below outlines, Ambrosino – who has been dubbed a “free-kick specialist” by journalist Graeme McGarry – has not pulled up any trees at any of his various loan clubs, but has impressed while representing Italy’s youth teams at major tournaments.
Giuseppe Ambrosino career statistics
Team
Competition
Appearances
Goals
Assists
Como
Serie B
4
1
Zero
Cittadella
Serie B
15
1
2
Catanzaro
Serie B
28
3
2
Frosinone
Serie B
36
5
4
International career
Italy U20s
U20 World Cup &
U20 Elite League
12
4
3
Italy U21s
U21 Euros
11
2
1
All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt
As noted in the table, Ambrosino was a key figure in the Italy side that reached the U20 World Cup Final in Argentina last year, starting six of the seven matches, scoring against the Dominican Republic in Mendoza, as gli Azzurrini were defeated 1-0 by Uruguay in the final at Estadio Único.
Then, just last month, he represented Italy at the under-21 European Championships, featuring in all four matches, scoring a stupendous, trademark free-kick to force extra time, as his side were ultimately eliminated at the quarter-final stage by Germany in Dunajská Streda.
These performances have yielded plenty of praise, with Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout impressed by his “finishing, movement and work-rate”, labelling him “versatile” and “unique” forward.
So, while very little is known about Ambrosino, he is clearly a player of immense talent.
When the aforementioned Nakamura joined Celtic in 2005, arriving from Serie A side Reggina, he was very much an unknown too, but would depart a bona fide cult hero, a status that he retains to this day.
So, as the Hoops look to shop in Italy again, Ambrosino could become only the fifth Italian to represent the Celts, after Rolando Ugolini, Paolo Di Canio, Enrico Annoni and Massimo Donati.
Whether or not his career will take off in Glasgow remains to be seen, but who doesn’t love a free-kick specialist?
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