Celtic badly needed to sign a striker in this winter transfer window. And they filled that need by signing Tomas Cvancara from Borussia Monchengladbach. For now, it is a loan deal, but it is believed that the Hoops have an option to sign him on a permanent basis at the end of the season for a fee around £7 million.
Cvancara had spent the first half of the season out on loan in Turkey and managed to score just one goal in 11 appearances for Antalyaspor. So, he is not a player in form at the moment and needed a change of scenery.
Is Cvancara the right man for the job at Celtic? On form, he is not. But football mathematics does not often play out like that. We will need to see him perform in a green-and-white shirt before reaching any conclusions about the striker.
For now, the jury is out on this move. The good thing is that Celtic have included an option to buy in the deal, so, this is not going to be an Adam Idah situation, where the Hoops had to overpay to sign him.
What Celtic are saying behind-the-scenes about Tomas Cvancara
Some positive noises are coming out of Celtic regarding Cvancara. As reported by 67 Hail Hail, Mark Guidi said while speaking on The Go Radio Football Show:
"I believe, certainly from what people at Celtic are saying that have dealt with him behind the scenes, he’s really hungry.
“Obviously, his career has been a bit of a stop-start in the last six months, year or so. So there’s a hunger there. He absolutely gets what it’s about.
“There’s a title on the line. He wants to come in and be a champion and help Celtic retain the title in the next four months.
“And it starts on Sunday, like we say, there’s 16 games to go."
Celtic do need a lot from Cvancara, if he is to guide them to the league title. It is possible that he makes his debut against Hearts this Sunday, which is one of the most important games of the season for the club.
Hearts are currently leading Celtic by six points and have already defeated the Hoops on a couple of occasions already, both home and away. Fans will be hoping that Cvancara proves to be the hero of the day and all three points are secured this weekend.