Celtic’s search for a striker has spilled over beyond Transfer Deadline Day and into September.
With Kelechi Iheanacho brought to the club on a free transfer, Brendan Rodgers is reportedly still on the free agent hunt, with a number of names mentioned in the past few days.
This time last year, Arne Engels and Auston Trusty had just been brought to the club for a combined fee of £17 million. There is definitely a different feeling amongst the support this time around.
With the Parkhead board missing out on a number of key targets this summer, eyes are back on them as Celtic look to plug gaps in the squad with some last-minute signings.
After a lack of attacking firepower saw Brendan Rodgers‘ side fail to score in either leg of their Champions League qualifier against Kairat as well as Sunday’s Glasgow Derby against Rangers, the effects of the transfer failures are being felt on the pitch.
For Clyde 1 pundit Marvin Bartley, it is a cause for concern over the club’s transfer procedure.
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Celtic have become reactive instead of proactive, says Marvin Bartley
For the former Hibernian midfielder, there is an absolute necessity for Celtic to add a striker.
Patrick Bamford is one name to be linked, and for Bartley, he may be a risk that has to be taken.
Speaking on Clyde Superscoreboard, Bartley said: “For so long, we’ve praised Celtic for being proactive when it comes to transfers.
“They’ve been really reactive in this one, they’ve been too slow to do anything. It’s really alarming for them.
“For Bamford, there’s no doubt about his quality, but he’s been injured on an awful lot of occasions, but they have to bring someone in on a free transfer.”
Aged 31, Bamford left Leeds United this summer, having been at the club since 2018. A part of their promotion-winning squad under Marcelo Bielsa, the left-footed forward even managed to pick up an England cap in 2021.
However, he later faded into a background role in Daniel Farke’s squad, and did not score a single Championship goal last season despite being used as a substitute on 17 occasions.
Can Celtic afford to go without another striker?
Following the arrival of Iheanacho, Celtic now have several options in the striker position. The question, however, is whether or not they will be good enough.
It is mainly up to Iheanacho, Shin Yamada and Johnny Kenny to provide an answer. Rodgers’ ideal replacement for Kyogo Furuhashi has not arrived, and he has no choice but to find an internal solution.
Perhaps the real area of worry is the right flank, where Yang Hyun-Jun and James Forrest are now his only natural options. With Nicolas Kuhn having departed for Como, he has no left-footed profiles to naturally replace him.
In the trio of Kuhn, Kyogo and Idah, the side has lost 53 goals from last campaign alone – should someone like Bamford arrive, it is difficult to picture them managing to significantly contribute to replacing this.
For Bartley and likely Rodgers, desperate times are calling for desperate measures.
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