Tomas Cvancara is struggling for form at Celtic, and time is running out for him to find it.
The striker joined in January to bolster Martin O'Neill's options up front, and fans were excited by his performance on his debut. He provided an assist, and on his second appearance, he managed to find the net himself. It looked as though Celtic may have a real player on their hands, but the Czech has fallen off massively since those initial games.
It isn't just Cvancara who has struggled though, as the Hoops have been unable to find a reliable option leading the line all season. Junior Adamu has failed to impress, Johnny Kenny found a bit of form but rapidly fell off before being sent out on loan to Bolton, and Kelechi Iheanacho is missing in action despite looking like the best option at the club.
All of the struggles show as well, with Celtic's goal difference at +22, a massive drop from +75 at this point last season.
Focusing on Cvancara, the striker is only here on a loan deal, but has expressed his interest in moving to Glasgow permanently. Right now, that seems incredibly unlikely. However, with many games coming up, every player at the club has a part to play, and that includes the Czech. If he can find the net once, he could maybe find it again, and before we know it, he's scoring for fun.
It seems unlikely that he would be able to get a decent run in the squad though, with it becoming painfully obvious that O'Neill doesn't have full trust in him. Against Rangers at Ibrox last weekend, he was an unused substitute, and the manager instead opted to move Daizen Maeda to a central position. His start against the Dons mid-week was his chance to really impress, and he failed to do so, meaning his retaining his place for the cup derby at the weekend is now highly unlikely.
When there is competition for your position, you need to grab any chance you're given, but so far, Cvancara has failed to do that.
Move on in the summer?
Right now, most Celtic fans would say that it would be wise to move on in the summer. There is no obligation to buy the player after his loan concludes, and he can simply return to his parent club if he doesn't improve.
Although his movement and hold-up play were initially promising, he can't seem to get himself in the right positions anymore. It isn't helping him that he gets little to no service, and at this point in the season, tactical changes to help him out are unlikely.
Will Celtic's striker woes ever end? We have our fingers crossed...