Steven Gerrard calls Celtic transfer target ‘unplayable’

Rangers run at the top of the Premiership was short lived as a 1-1 draw against Hearts meant that they find themselves behind the Hoops once again. And after the game, Steven Gerrard was particularly impressed with the display of a Hearts player recently linked with Celtic.

Rangers went top of the Scottish Premiership heading into the international break two weeks ago following Celtic’s 2-0 defeat away at Livingston. But after the Hoops thumped Ross County 6-0 on Saturday, Steven Gerrard’s men needed a win if they were to maintain their spot at the top of the table.

They failed to do so though as only a 1-1 draw away at struggling Hearts meant they slipped to second position in the table despite having the same points as their Glasgow rivals. This was Rangers’ first negative result in the Premiership since their loss at the hands of Celtic at Ibrox earlier this season in the Old Firm Derby.

While Rangers boss, Steven Gerrard, was disappointed with the performance of his players, he also gave credit to the Hearts team for their performance. And he was particularly impressed by their striker Uche Ikpeazu, who put in a masterful performance in leading the Hearts’ attack with his physicality. What is interesting is the fact that the striker has been heavily linked with Celtic in recent months.

Speaking to The Scottish Sun about the striker, Gerrard said:

"“We knew it was going to be played direct into Uche Ikpeazu up front and we knew he was going to try to have a wrestle and a war.“I think we stood up a lot of it but sometimes the big guy is unplayable. He’s a right handful. But I don’t think that’s the reason why we dropped two points today.”"

Although a fine striker in his own right, it does not look like Ikpeazu is anywhere near the level of Odsonne Edouard at this moment, who scored another brace on Saturday to help Celtic to a 6-0 victory. While the 24-year-old is a physical specimen to say the least, he does not have the goals in his game to consistently lead the line for a side like Celtic.

But it is not hard to see why Gerrard was so highly impressed by the man who has scored just 10 times in his 38 appearances for Hearts. On his day, Ikpeazu is truly a defender’s nightmare. And he also has the rare ability to make those around him better, something that Olivier Giroud has been known to do over the years.

If the Hoops do end up signing Ikpeazu in the future, therl is no reason that he cannot be a hit at Celtic Park. He is more than capable of being a deputy to Edouard and could very well go on to become one of the biggest impact substitute in Scotland.