By any measure, this season has been a total disaster for Celtic, but it could still end with a trophy or perhaps two. On Sunday, the Hoops reached a 62nd Scottish Cup Final since their very first in 1889. Martin O'Neill's team threw away a 2-0 lead against St Mirren, the Buddies equalising in stoppage time, only to blitz the Saints during the first half of extra time, scoring four times in six minutes.
One of the scorers during this spree was Benjamin Nygren, side-footing into the corner past teenaged debutant Grant Tamosevicius to conclude the scoring for the afternoon. This was his 20th goal of the season across all competitions, previously netting 15 times in the Premiership as well as four in the Europa League. This is an excellent return for the 24 year old who arrived from Nordsjælland for a reported fee of just £1.7 million.
So, that got us thinking, how many other Celtic players have scored 20 goals during their debut campaigns in Glasgow?
Celtic players to score 20+ goals during first season (1980-present)
Players | Season | Goal tally |
|---|---|---|
Benjamin Nygren | 2025/26 | 20 |
Kyōgo Furuhashi | 2021/22 | 20 |
Moussa Dembélé | 2016/17 | 32 |
Scott Sinclair | 2016/17 | 18 |
Gary Hooper | 2010/11 | 22 |
Scott McDonald | 2007/08 | 31 |
Maciej Żurawski | 2005/06 | 20 |
John Hartson | 2001/02 | 24 |
Andy Walker | 1987/88 | 32 |
Brian McClair | 1983/84 | 31 |
In the last 46 years, only ten Celtic players have reached 20 goals across all competitions during their debut campaign at Parkhead. Remarkably, both Scott Sinclair and Moussa Dembélé achieved this at the same time in 2016/17, as Brendan Rodgers' side collected an invincible treble. Before Nygren's exploits, Kyōgo Furuhashi during Ange Postecoglou's first year was the only new recruit to do so subsequently.
There is one notable absentee from this list. Nygren's compatriot Henrik Larsson only scored 19 goals during his first campaign, albeit the king of kings did go on to notch 241 for the club overall, bagging at least 20 goals every season, aside from when he suffered a broken leg.
Given that, Sinclair aside, everyone else on this list is a centre-forward, it underlines the scale of Nygren's achievement, as he has predominantly been deployed in midfield, despite having been a winger at his former club. Well, the Swede will continue to play a central role, literally and figuratively, for O'Neill's side with two trophies up for grabs.
In the Premiership, the four in a row champions' streak is in serious danger of being broken. given that they are two points below Rangers and three adrift leaders Heart of Midlothian. Thus, every game is must win, with the top two still to visit Parkhead in May. Before then, the Hoops' first post-split fixture comes up on Saturday evening, host Falkirk, before traveling to Hibernian a week later. Who knows what the mood will be like by the time they face Neil Lennon's Dunfermline in the Scottish Cup Final at Hampden on 23 May but, whatever this team achieves, Nygren will continue to be a key figure.
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