Martin O'Neill is back at Celtic, as if he had never been away. On Saturday, the Hoops smashed Dundee United 4-0 at Parkhead; Yang Hyun-jun, Arne Engels, Benjamin Nygren and Daizen Maeda all on target.
This was the first match of O'Neill's second stint as interim manager. During his first, he won seven out of eight matches, before being replaced by Wilfried Nancy. After the Frenchman lost six of eight games at the helm, he was swiftly axed, with the 73-year-old back in situ until May.
After both Hearts and Rangers won away from home on Sunday, the Hoops remain third, but could move within three points of the Premiership leaders with victory at Falkirk on Wednesday. Off the pitch, January is also a key month in the transfer window, so could the under-fire board be about to make the signing every supporter is desperate to see?
Celtic make a move to sign a new striker
According to a report by French outlet Ouest France, Celtic have made an offer to Lorient to sign striker Mohamed Bamba. They note that the Scottish champions have tabled a loan including an option to buy for the 24-year-old.
Les Merlus, currently 12th in Ligue 1, are partially owned by Bill Foley. He holds a minority stake in Hibernian, so it will be interesting to see if that impacts any potential move. More pertinently, who is Bamba, and would this be a good move for Celtic?
Born and raised in Côte d'Ivoire, Bamba began his European career with Hapoel Rishon leZion in Israel, before joining Austrian Bundesliga side Wolfsberger AC. By scoring eight goals in just 17 appearances for WAC, he caught Lorient's attention, moving to Stade du Moustoir in January 2024.
During his first half-season in Brittany, he scored eight goals in 16 Ligue 1 games, albeit unable to save les Angos et Noirs from relegation. After sitting out much of Lorient's Ligue 2 promotion-winning campaign due to an ankle injury, Bamba has scored just one Ligue 1 goal this season, on target against Monaco in September, not starting any of their last six.
So, perhaps a move to Glasgow would reinvigorate the talented youngster's career, but he would be far from a sure thing in attack.
Nevertheless, Celtic are crying out for centre-forward reinforcements this month. In 2025, both Kyōgo Furuhashi and Adam Idah were sold for a combined £17 million, the latter departing on deadline day. At the time the window slammed shut, no replacement for either had been signed.
Kelechi Ịheanachọ did arrive as a free agent, but he has scored just three goals thus far, sitting out the last 13 Premiership matches due to a hamstring injury.
In short, if Celtic are going to overtake both Rangers and Hearts in the title race, they simply need stronger centre-forward options than Ịheanachọ, Johnny Kenny and Shin Yamada. Whether Bamba arrives remains to be seen, but even if he does, he's far from guaranteed to be the next Odsonne Édouard.