Kelechi Iheanacho has reportedly been closely contacted by Turkish side Bursaspor.
Upon promotion back to the Super Lig, the club are looking to pounce after Celtic missed their option to extend the striker’s stay, leaving major doubt over his future in Glasgow.
Iheanacho’s camp have made it clear that he wants to stay at Celtic, but it takes two to tango, and there have been no reports of constructive talks with the club as of yet.
Without the striker’s five goals in eight appearances — all from the bench — towards the end of the season, the team’s league and cup double wouldn’t have been possible.
🤦♂️ Still no sign of an agreement for either of these two Celtic favourites to stay…
The season ended on May 23rd 🗓️
Kelechi Iheanacho ‘closely contacted’ by Bursaspor
According to major Bursa-based Turkish outlet Olay, Bursaspor have made close contact with the Nigerian striker.
They are now awaiting a response, though club management are “hoping to reach an agreement”.
READ MORE: Celtic launch new merchandise range before making a summer signing
The report also notes that the player has interest from England. Known for his spells at Manchester City and Leicester City, he has also spent time on loan at Middlesbrough.
Club president Enes Çelik told the outlet: “It might happen after the Bolu training camp. We won’t rush.
“There were 3-year contracts worth 6-7 million euros. We said let’s think about it a little more. We want to meticulously find the most suitable one among the available options.
“The only thing left is the striker position. We will hand over the team to our coach when we go to the Bolu training camp, except for one striker.”
Many in the Parkhead support would like to see him stay, but with pre-season training now underway, he is officially a free agent as he trains alone in Nigeria.
Iheanacho himself has dropped a major hint that he wants to stay at Celtic by posting a picture of him and his teammates with the caption ‘my team’ on social media.
Celtic look set to release more merchandise this summer.
Thoughts on this Celtic fans and how the club expect YOU to spend money while they hoard THEIRS? 👇
Kelechi Iheanacho’s wait to make an impact at Celtic
Iheanacho was brought in through the back door after the closure of the transfer window as a player with a pre-existing relationship with then-manager Brendan Rodgers.
Through no fault of his own, Iheanacho watched a chaotic first half of the season from the sidelines. From November to March, he started just one game, often not making matchday squads.
Fitness and managerial preferences were the causes of this.
Both Tomas Cvancara and Junior Adamu were brought in as reinforcements in the winter window, but neither had the desired impact, opening the door for Iheanacho to establish himself under O’Neill.
As Celtic won all of their seven last matches to deliver a Scottish Premiership that had once looked unlikely, Iheanacho played a vital part.
He then topped it off with a goalscoring cameo in the Scottish Cup Final at Hampden.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
