The clock is ticking and Celtic have minutes rather than hours to rescue their summer transfer window by landing the attacking reinforcements that they need.
Adam Idah was allowed to complete a permanent transfer to Swansea City earlier today, leaving Shin Yamada and Johnny Kenny as the only ‘senior’ strikers in the building.
Sky Sports reporter Anthony Joseph claims that Chelsea forward David Datro Fofana has turned down the chance to join the Hoops in order to sign for English side Charlton Athletic in the Championship on loan.
Celtic make late bid for new striker
The Scottish Premiership champions are still pushing to the wire to bring in a new forward before the deadline passes to improve their options up front.
According to the Scottish Sun, Celtic have made a last-gasp bid to sign Sevilla centre-forward Kelechi Iheanacho to reunite him with Brendan Rodgers.
The report claims that the Nigeria international has emerged as a deadline-busting transfer target for the Hoops, after they failed to land Kasper Dolberg and Datro Fofana.
It adds that Sevilla will not stand in his way if he wishes to make the move to Scotland before the deadline, but it remains to be seen what the £52k-per-week marksman wants to do.
What Kelechi Iheanacho could bring to Celtic
The left-footed forward is a vastly experienced number nine who could come in as an even better option than Datro Fofana in the number nine position for the Scottish giants.
Datro Fofana has only scored five goals in Europe’s top five leagues in his playing career and has not scored more than four league goals for a club in a season since the 2022 campaign for Molde, per Sofascore.
Kelechi, who was once hailed as “incredible” by Rodgers, scored a respectable 43 goals in 143 matches for the Celtic manager during their time together at Leicester, per Transfermarkt, which shows that the Northern Irish boss can get the best out of him.
|
Kelechi’s Premier League career |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Season (appearances) |
Goals |
Assists |
|
22/23 (28) |
5 |
5 |
|
21/22 (26) |
4 |
5 |
|
20/21 (25) |
12 |
2 |
|
19/20 (20) |
5 |
5 |
|
18/19 (30) |
1 |
3 |
|
17/18 (21) |
3 |
3 |
|
16/17 (20) |
4 |
3 |
|
15/16 (26) |
8 |
1 |
As you can see in the table above, Kelechi has plenty of experience in the Premier League and consistently showed that he could deliver goals and assists, at a decent, if not spectacular, rate.
His best season, with 12 goals in the 2020/21 campaign, also came with Rodgers in the Foxes dugout, which, again, shows that they have a relationship that could bring him success at Parkhead.
Kelechi has significantly more experience and more goals in a major European league than Datro Fofana has and outscored (four) the Chelsea youngster (two) in all competitions in the 2024/25 campaign, per Sofascore.
This suggests that the 28-year-old marksman, who still has plenty left to give at that age, could be a shrewd addition to the squad when you consider his relationship with Rodgers and his goal return at Premier League level under the current Hoops boss.
It may not be a glamorous, big-money, signing that supporters may have wanted, but if they can get this deadline-busting move over the line, Celtic will have a potentially lethal striker on their hands.
