Celtic centre-forward Kelechi Iheanacho has had a mixed start to life at Parkhead after his move to the club on a free transfer the day after deadline day.
The Nigeria international was signed around 24 hours after Sevilla decided to terminate his contract before the end of the summer transfer window, after the Hoops failed to bring in a striker before the deadline.
Iheanacho has delivered three goals and one assist in six matches in all competitions for the Scottish giants since his move to Glasgow, which is a respectable return on paper.
However, two of his goals have come from the penalty spot and the former Manchester City marksman has missed four ‘big chances’ from open play, per Sofascore.
Brendan Rodgers may be hoping that there is more to come from the left-footed attacker from open play in the weeks and months to come, to avoid having to dip into the market in January to sign another first-choice striker.
The Hoops did sell their first-choice centre-forward in the January transfer window at the start of this year, Kyogo Furuhashi, but opted not to replace him.
Why Celtic did not replace Kyogo Furuhashi
Celtic decided to cash in on the Japan international midway through the 2024/25 campaign after Rennes came to the table with an offer of £10m to sign the attacker.
The Scottish Premiership giants sold him to the French side for £10m, despite him being the first-choice striker at the club, and ended the window without bringing a direct replacement through the door.
Celtic were reportedly in talks with Brondby over a deal to sign Danish centre-forward Mathias Kvistgaarden before the end of the window, but they were unable to get a move over the line. He then signed for Norwich City for £6.9m this summer.
Losing Kyogo was a blow on paper, because he scored 85 goals in 165 matches for the club (Transfermarkt), but his declining form suggests that they got a good deal for him.
Appearances
36
60
xG
20.55
32.73
Shots
88
164
Shots on target
42
69
Goals
27
24
As you can see in the table above, the Japanese forward was incredibly wasteful in front of goal in his last 18 months at the club, underperforming his xG by almost nine goals.
This is why his exit was not as big a blow as it would have been after the 2022/23 campaign, which may also be why the club felt that they did not have to directly replace him.
Celtic star is ready to leave the club
Moving forward to the present day, one of the players who was tasked with replacing Kyogo’s goals in-house is now looking to leave the club in the upcoming January transfer window.
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According to journalist Graeme Bailey, versatile Celtic attacker Daizen Maeda wants to move on from the Scottish giants ahead of the second half of the season.
Speaking to 67HailHail, the reporter said: “Maeda is ready to leave and I am told a move to England is very much on his radar, and he does have interest.
“Whether Celtic will let him out in January remains to be seen, but he will only have a year left come the summer and at that point he will go.”
This comes after Maeda revealed that a move away from Parkhead was blocked by the club during the summer window, which led Rodgers to claim that it has been a “difficult” situation for the forward to manage since the window closed.
Why losing Maeda would be a bigger blow than Kyogo's exit
It would be a bigger blow for Celtic to sell the Japan international in the upcoming January transfer window than it was to sell Kyogo to Rennes at the start of this year, for several reasons.
Firstly, the Hoops do not have the attacking options across their frontline that they did to soften the blow of losing Kyogo. They signed Jota from Rennes, Adam Idah scored 20 goals in all competitions last season, and they had Maeda.
Now, Jota is currently out with an ACL injury, Idah was sold to Swansea on deadline day, Sebastian Tounekti, Michel-Ange Balikwisha, James Forrest, and Hyun-jun Yang are all yet to score a league goal, and Iheanacho has scored one goal from open play.
Benjamin Nygren
4
Daizen Maeda
2
Kelechi Iheanacho
2
Johnny Kenny
1
Luke McCowan
1
Reo Hatate
1
This means that Rodgers may not have the confidence that he had when Kyogo left that the players he already has at his disposal can cover the goals that the team would lose if Maeda moved on.
Another reason why the winger’s exit from Parkhead would be a bigger blow than Kyogo’s move to Rennes is that his recent form for Celtic has been more impressive than the striker’s was at the end of his time in Glasgow.
Maeda won the Scottish Premiership Player of the Year award for the 2024/25 campaign just five months ago, after scoring 33 goals in all competitions last season, per Transfermarkt.
Kyogo did not make it into the Team of the Year, let alone the Player of the Year conversation, in the 2024/25 or 2023/24 campaigns, which shows that he left Celtic 18 months after his ‘prime’.
Maeda, who was lauded as “phenomenal” by former Rangers boss Barry Ferguson, is only a few months away from being crowned the best player in Scotland and is the team’s second-top scorer in the Premiership at the moment, having scored the winner against Motherwell last weekend.
This is why losing him in January would be an even bigger blow than losing Kyogo was, because he is more important to the team, because of his performances and because of the supporting cast, than his international teammate was at the start of the year.
If Maeda does get his wish and moves on from Parkhead in January, Celtic and Rodgers may not be able to afford not to replace him with a new signing.
