Celtic have some hope after Daizen Maeda but AC Milan lead frittered away in friendly

This was the first match of life post-Maeda for Celtic as they welcomed AC Milan to Parkhead for their final friendly ahead of next weekend’s Premiership campaign commencing .

A crowd of 23,000 - far more than last week against Middlesbrough - turned up to watch a 2-2 draw, with Duran and James Forrest netting before Francisco Camarda scored twice for Milan.

Celtic clearly have more recruitment to do - a source of great consternation to some supporters. Duran is so far officially their only purchase this summer, costing nearly £6 million from Azeri side Qarabag. The Colombian forward should be joined in attack by Bodo/Glimt’s Danish No 9 Kasper Hogh, who Celtic are shelling out a record fee of more than £11m for.

Duran opened the scoring against the Serie A side and while Celtic lost their way after taking a 2-0 lead into the sheds, the 24-year-old gave a good account of himself.

Apart from the obvious goals and assists, Maeda’s pace and ability to press opponents will be missed. Duran is not as explosive at the Japanese but he showed how quick and lively he is here. His constant harrying and being on his toes led to Celtic’s first two strikes.

Celtic’s pre-season has been fairly underwhelming but Duran is a clear plus point. Whether he will be moved out wide to accommodate Hogh, or paired alongside him, remains to be seen - but he appears to fit the bill for Martin O’Neill’s outfit.

Fifth-placed finishers in Serie A last season, Ruben Amorim’s AC Milan rocked up in the east end of Glasgow without a host of World Cup stars. They were wretched in the first half, but improved after the break to be far more competitive. They are still some weeks behind Celtic in their preparations.

Celtic start the defence of their Premiership title a week on Monday against Dundee and by then, they should have Hogh in situ, plus right-back Alistair Johnston and attacking midfielder Benjamin Nygren back in the squad. But there remains much work to be done to elevate this team.

Midfield remains stodgy - and it is widely anticipated that Arne Engels will depart before the transfer window is out. And at the back, while Cameron Carter-Vickers is back after a long injury lay-off, Celtic could do with another centre-half given their propensity to concede goals last season. Goalkeeping options are light too.

Celtic want highly-rated Mika Baur of Paderborn to reinforce midfield and landing him, plus Hogh, might assuage some of the dissenters in the stand. The supporters continue to vote with their feet. Not withstanding the summer holidays and the cost of attending football these days, this wasn’t a great attendance. Celtic continue to tread a fine line with its fanbase.

Milan come bearing gifts at Celtic Park

It must be said that friendlies can at times be an unjust way to judge a football team given the raft of substitutions and desire to make sure players’ sharpness is honed. Certainly for AC Milan, they looked like a bang average Scottish team in parts rather than Italian glitterati.

Their hulking Serbian centre-half Strahinja Pavlovic passed the ball right across goal on 11 minutes and Duran, showing his liveliness, latched on to it like a flash and netted past stranded goalkeeper Lorenzo Torriani. A minute later, the Colombian almost pinched the ball off the dithering keeper in an act of pressing à la Maeda.

Milan were not let off on 28 minutes. Dispossessed deep inside their own half, the ball squirted loose inside their penalty box. Duran was quicker than Torriani to react and he found Forrest, who finished high into the net beyond covering Milan defenders.

Torriani made a smart save to stop a Luke McCowan free-kick just before the break and Amorim rang the changes, introducing eight new players - and his move paid off instantly.

Milan earned penalty right at start of second half when Cameron Carter-Vickers challenged Francisco Camarda from behind and the striker - one of the subs - converted emphatically.

Six minutes later, Camarda headed home after a lovely cross with the outside of his book from fellow replacement Samuel Chukwueze. The way Celtic were cut open at ease was a little concerning.

O’Neill rang the changes himself thereafter, with Duran coming off with 15 minutes to go. His replacement Thomas Hatton so nearly scored a lovely solo goal but the score stayed at 2-2. Reo Hatate was one of other the players introduced and the Japanese, who is also said to want a move, was cheered on to the pitch.

The main man from Japan, however, has gone. Duran showed promise but as has been the case all summer, Celtic still need more. A busy few weeks should await in the transfer market ...