Celtic fans have, over the last 24 hours, been reacting to the performance of Uche Ikpeazu vs Rangers.
The big Englishman has recently been linked with a move to Parkhead (West London Sport). This comes despite the fact he’s only managed to score two goals in 12 appearances this season. He’s only managed to score 10 goals for Hearts since arriving in the summer of 2018 too.
However, he put in a real dominant performance against Rangers at Tynecastle yesterday. He bullied Nikola Katic and Connor Goldson at every opportunity, and managed to hold the ball up extremely well. He single-handedly got Hearts up the pitch, and proved to be a real asset for the Jambos on the day.
Some Celtic fans, therefore, have been giving their updated opinion on whether he would be a good fit for us. It’s fair to say that opinion was certainly mixed.
https://twitter.com/marcmcardle1/status/1185975118390013959
https://twitter.com/TheMireCSC2002/status/1185914074514759680
https://twitter.com/TAL_Fanzine/status/1185909248510824453
https://twitter.com/mcginleybhoy/status/1185881562925223936
Ikpeazu didn’t show anything we didn’t already know
The former Cambridge United striker has a habit of doing this. When it comes to games on live TV, he seems to turn up and put a real shift in. But there’s a reason he only has two goals in 12 appearances, and it’s not because he’s clinical.
The Hearts striker missed a sitter at 0-0 in the opening minutes. A ball in from the right was glanced onto the bar by the big forward, in what was a shocker of a miss in truth. Meanwhile, Vakoun Bayo was getting stick for missing his chance against Ross County on Saturday.
Sure, we all know Ikpeazu is built like a machine. Players just bounce off him, and he even has some terrific feet for a man built like him. However, watching him turn on the ball is brutal at times, and too often he allows himself to get crowded on the ball due to a lack of pace.
Celtic don’t play a game that’s suited to Ikpeazu’s skill-set. We like to play fast, one-touch football when we can. We certainly attack with real pace, and that’s something Ikpeazu doesn’t look like he can keep up with.
At Hearts, he gets plenty of direct balls punted up to him so he can keep control of the ball and bring others into play. That sounds useful for European football, but he’s nowhere near the standard to play at that level either.
This isn’t a signing we should even consider for now. If we go out and buy a striker in January, he has to be a lot better than Uche Ikpeazu.
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