What an absolute mess Celtic have made of their striker situation this season.
Even if Martin O’Neill guides Celtic to the Premiership title, this campaign will go down as one of the worst for the so-called goal scorers who have taken to the main stage.
One of them includes the January signing Tomas Cvancara, who just isn’t impressing, and Tony Watt feels his future at Parkhead could be over before it has even started.
“Cvancara, I don’t think we will see him at Celtic next season,” said Watt. “I don’t think he is a number nine Celtic really need, and that is a problem for the run-in.”
Luckily for Celtic, Cvancara is on loan from Borussia Monchengladbach, so if he continues to go down his current road, then it’s easy to part ways with the striker in the summer.
Which one of these was the best striker?
Tony Watt evaluates Celtic’s current strikers
Kelechi Iheanacho has impressed from the bench in recent weeks, but as Watt pointed out on Clyde 1 Superscoreboard, he can’t stay fit.
Watt understands the pressures of playing for a club the size of Celtic, and he feels Iheanacho has the qualities to succeed.
However, when the Partick Thistle man watches Daizen Maeda play up top, he feels he isn’t a natural number nine.
And then, when Cvancara plays up top, ‘he looks exactly what he is’, and that’s somebody who just ‘isn’t sharp’ to get Celtic over the title line.
| Player | Goals (All Competitions) |
|---|---|
| Tomas Cvancara | 2 |
| Kelechi Iheanacho | 4 |
| Junior Adamu | 1 |
| Daizen Maeda | 8 |
| Johnny Kenny | 6 |
Before the chaos of the post-split fixtures can begin, Celtic play St Mirren in the Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden, and it will be interesting to see who O’Neill starts up top.
By the sounds of it, if it were up to Watt, then it’s pretty clear who he would play, not just at the weekend, but for the title run-in.
“I think Iheanacho is the best striker, in terms of out-and-out number nine,” said Watt. “In front of the goal, hold-up play, maybe not mobility, but like I spoke about earlier, if you can hold the ball up and score goals, you have a chance at Celtic and Rangers.
“Now, his body has let him down this season, in terms of being available for games, and Celtic has had to bring in another striker.
“I don’t like Maeda down the middle. I don’t think his hold-up play is good enough. His energy. His speed. I like it when he is on the left wing. Smashing balls across for a striker or getting into the back post. I don’t think he is a natural number nine.
“Then, Cvancara, for me, I say it every time I am on the radio, he looks exactly what he is. A player who hasn’t played a lot of games, who isn’t sharp. Martin O’Neill said it the other day. He has had a few games to get up to speed, and maybe he will turn it around in the last five games.
“But for me, I would be going for Iheanacho. Cvancara, I don’t think we will see him at Celtic next season. I don’t think he is a number nine Celtic really need, and that is a problem for the run-in.”
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