Celtic could make bargain move for £3m “mentality monster”

Celtic simply require more signings before the transfer window closes on 1 September.

Earlier this week, the club confirmed the arrival of teenage centre-back Jahmai Simpson-Pusey, joining on a season-long loan from Manchester City.

He becomes Brendan Rodgers’ seventh summer recruit, but his squad is still lacking attacking quality, following the sale of Nicolas Kühn to Como.

Benjamin Nygren has arrived from Nordsjælland, making his debut from the start last Sunday against St Mirren, while new striker Shin Yamada, who’s come in from Kawasaki Frontale, was an unused substitute on flag day, hoping to see some action against Aberdeen at Pittodrie this forthcoming weekend.

Nevertheless, in need of top-end talent, could Celtic return to a familiar source?

Celtic’s scouting department scour far and wide for new signings, but one of their favourite pools of talent remains the English Football League, as the table below documents.

As the table documents, Celtic have unearthed plenty of gems from within the EFL during the last decade and a half, but none have proved to be more profitable than Matt O’Riley.

The Danish international was signed by Ange Postecoglou from Milton Keynes in January 2022 for just £1.5m, and would go on to make 124 appearances in hoops, scoring 27 goals and registering 35 assists.

His tally of 19 goals during his final season in Glasgow saw O’Riley named Celtic’s Player of the Year, Players’ Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year, earning a £25m move to Brighton soon after, equaling the Celts’ club-record sale.

So now, could Celtic complete a similar move, one which possibly has as much upside?

Celtic’s search for new forwards

According to journalist Ron Walker, Wycombe Wanderers have lowered their asking price for forward Richard Kone to £3m plus add-ons, with the 22-year-old into the final year of his contract; he did not feature in the Chairboys’ EFL League One opener against Bradford City on Saturday.

Earlier in the window, it was reported that Celtic were interested in signing the striker, but were put off by the £7m asking price; has that situation now changed?

Back in January, Wycombe rejected a £6m bid from Luton Town for their star forward, but are now desperate to cash in to avoid him departing on a Bosman in a year’s time.

Fair to say, Kone has taken an unusual route into professional football.

He arrived in the UK in 2019 to represent Côte d’Ivoire at the Homeless World Cup, staying in the country and joining Athletic Newham in the Essex Senior League, part of England’s ninth-tier, playing for them for five years.

His big breakthrough came in January 2024, offered a trial at Wycombe, impressing so much that he then signed a full-time contract, which has certainly proved to be a worthwhile decision.

Speaking on CBS’ Morning Footy, Wycombe legend Adebayo Akinfenwa asserted that “if Hollywood was going to have a script for a story, this would be it”.

That’s because, last season, Kone scored 25 goals in all competitions for the Blues, his first full campaign as a professional, thereby awarded both EFL League One player of the season and young player of the season.

Writer Kai Watson labels him a “mentality monster”, praising his ‘exemplary’ dribbling and link-up play, as well as his positioning in the penalty area and out of possession ‘work rate’.

So, let’s outline his statistics from last season.

As the table documents, Kone ranked highly for all attacking metrics included, very much a high-volume shooter, performing in, according to Global Football Rankings, the 53rd strongest league in the world, which is just ten spots below the Scottish Premiership.

Scouted Magazine asserted that, ‘in a couple of years’ time, Kone will be worth £25m, forecasting a similar astronomical rise in valuation that O’Riley enjoyed, so the Ivorian could prove to be the latest in a long line of transfer market bargains Celtic snap up.