With just over three weeks until Celtic commence their Premiership title defence against Dundee, it has been rather quiet on the transfer front. The Scottish champions have though made their first signing of the summer, bringing in Colombian striker Camilo Durán from Qarabağ for a reported fee of £6 million.
Meantime, before worrying about new recruits, the Celts had to decide which existing members of their squad they wanted to keep around. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has signed up for another year, while it now appears as though Kelechi Ịheanachọ is set to do the same.
Kelechi Iheanacho: Set to stay at Celtic
As reported by Greek journalist George Tsarouchas, Ịheanachọ has "held talks" with Celtic over the possibility of signing a two-year contract. He adds that the Nigerian striker has "turned down offers from Qatar and Turkey", because his preference is to remain in Glasgow. A new contract is yet to be finalised, and not so long ago it appeared highly unlikely that he would stay, but the 29 year old remaining a Celtic player now appears the most-likely outcome.
Why keeping Kelechi Iheanacho is right for Celtic
Signing Ịheanachọ was never the plan for Celtic. Following Adam Idah's sale to Swansea on deadline day, he arrived after the window had shut, only able to do so because Sevilla agreed to terminate his contract, so disastrous was his stint in Spain. The 29 year old's first season at Celtic was dominated by two themes: injuries and crucial goals.
Having barely played any football for years, it was no surprise that Ịheanachọ struggled to stay fit. Nevertheless, it was far from ideal that, between 19 October and 22 March, he played just eight minutes of Premiership football. During this period, the club changed head coach four times. However, on debut at Rugby Park, the Nigerian converted a stoppage time penalty to beat Kilmarnock, and this was a sign of what was to come.
Kelechi Iheanacho's Celtic goals
Date | Scoreline | Iheanacho goal times |
|---|---|---|
14 September | Kilmarnock 1-2 Celtic | 90+6' |
24 September | Crvena zvezda 1-1 Celtic | 55' |
5 October | Celtic 3-2 Motherwell | 28' |
5 April | Dundee 1-2 Celtic | 82' |
19 April | Celtic 6-2 St Mirren -AET | 96' & 102' |
3 May | Hibernian 1-2 Celtic | 72' |
13 May | Motherwell 2-3 Celtic | 90+9' |
23 May | Celtic 3-0 Dunfermline | 73' |
Towards the end of the campaign, Ịheanachọ scored crucial late winners at Dens Park, Easter Road and Fir Park, the latter the most famous. His 99th minute spot-kick, which was controversial to say the least, sparked wild scenes of celebration in Motherwell, setting up the final day shootout with Hearts, which the Hoops of course won 3-1. He also found the net during both the Scottish Cup semi-finals and final, ending the campaign with two pieces of silverware to show for his efforts.
Martin O'Neill said "he was brilliant for us. He took the goals magnificently", underlining why the Northern Irishman was eager to keep him around. Despite concerns over Ịheanachọ's fitness, he is certainly a useful squad member, so fans will be excited to see him stay.
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