There have been a host of names that have played the central striker role for Celtic since Kyogo Furuhashi’s exit.
To say that Kyogo’s abrupt exit in January has caused havoc would be an understatement, even though Daizen Maeda went on to become Scotland’s PFA Player of the Year by scoring a crazy amount of goals down the middle.
Since then, Maeda, the now-departed Adam Idah, Johnny Kenny, Shin Yamada, and the new star in the house, Kelechi Iheanacho, have led the line for Celtic.
But Barry Bannan wanted to give his flowers to Iheanacho, including how he has brought a level of ‘trust’ to Celtic’s play that Idah and Maeda simply couldn’t provide.
The difference between Kelechi Iheanacho, Adam Idah and Daizen Maeda at Celtic
Speaking to Open Goal, Bannan thinks Idah would get ‘slaughtered’, even though he ‘scored a lot’, but he couldn’t hold the ball up like Iheanacho is proving now.
The Sheffield Wednesday midfielder also put Maeda into that boat, including being critical of his first touch.
Bannan explained that the Celtic players simply didn’t ‘trust’ Idah, and currently, Maeda’s hold-up play, but that’s now changing with the man from Nigeria.
“Your strikers are always going to pick up,” stated Bannan. “The attacking players are always going to get better as the season goes on.
“I really like the signing of Kelechi Iheanacho. I think it’s going to be a great signing for them. I think, with Adam Idah, a bit like Maeda, you probably have a number nine now, who has actually got a first touch and can bring people in.
“He sees things which will help, like your McGregors and Hatates, because when people are firing the ball to your striker. You only go based on whether you trust that number nine. I think the number nines that Celtic have had previously with Maeda and Adam Idah, you probably don’t get that trust.
“You know, as a midfielder, and if you get a striker who you know is going to set it or going to hold it up, you’ll gamble. I think with Iheanacho, you will see a lot of movement off the back of him. He might not get a lot of goals, compared to Idah, who got slaughtered but scored a lot.
“But he might get a lot of assists this year. I think because of the runners, and they have got a trust in him.”
How FC 26 rates Iheanacho, Idah and Maeda
The latest edition of FIFA is out, and the current Celtic players have reacted to their FC 26 rating.
Even though he is unhappy, Iheanacho has been handed a rating card of 72, with Maeda a rare gold at 79, and the departed Idah also a silver card at 74.
Looking at how EA have rated some of their specific stats, which might help them in their hold-up and link-up play, makes for interesting reading.
- Iheanacho’s strength: 74
- Maeda’s strength: 67
- Idah’s strength: 85
- Iheanacho’s ball control: 73
- Maeda’s ball control: 71
- Idah’s ball control: 68
- Iheanacho’s passing: 68
- Maeda’s passing: 70
- Idah’s passing: 57
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
