Celtic could see £2m bid accepted for 15-goal star

One player who faces an increasingly uncertain future at Celtic is centre-forward Kelechi Iheanacho, as his contract is due to expire at the end of the month.

The Nigeria international is set to become a free agent in July after just one season at Parkhead, despite the fact that the club have an option to extend his deal by a further 12 months.

Celtic are yet to activate his extension or offer him a longer-term renewal to keep the striker with the Scottish Premiership champions, which makes it seem like he is on his way out of the club.

It would not come as a major surprise to see the Hoops allow him to leave on a free transfer, though, because two hamstring injuries kept him sidelined for most of the season.

The former Manchester City striker only played 13 times and started four games in the Premiership for Martin O’Neill‘s side, scoring five goals in that time.

Celtic eyeing move to sign new centre-forward

Iheanacho, who scored in his last appearance for the club against Dunfermline in the SFA Cup final last month, failed to prove that he can be a reliable option for the manager at the top end of the pitch.

Now, O’Neill and the recruitment team are looking at a new signing who could arrive at Parkhead as an even better option than the experienced Nigerian frontman.

According to The Scottish Sun, Celtic have set their sights on Qarabag centre-forward Camilo Duran as a possible signing for the summer transfer window.

The report claims that O’Neill wants to add two new number nines to his squad in the off-season, and the Colombian marksman has been identified as a potential addition.

It adds that teams from both Europe and South America have been put on alert by his form in the 2025/26 campaign, which means that the Hoops could face significant competition for his services.

The Scottish Sun also reveals that Qarabag are looking for a club-record fee of £2m for the striker, and it is now down to Celtic to put £2m on the table to see an offer accepted for the attacker.

Why Camilo Duran would be better than Kelechi Iheanacho for Celtic

The Premiership champions should push to get a deal done for Duran ahead of any other interested parties, because he would be a better option than Iheanacho in the centre-forward position for O’Neill next season.

Availability is the best ability and Duran played 43 times in all competitions for Qarabag in the 2025/26 campaign, including 30 times in the league, which shows that he is far more likely to be available to the manager week-in-week-out.

The quality that the £2m star showed on the European stage also suggests that he could have more to offer as a goalscorer than Iheanacho, after he scored five goals in ten matches in the Champions League.

He scored five times as many goals in Europe as Iheanacho, despite playing in a superior competition, and provided more physicality and creativity on top of his outstanding goalscoring.

Duran scored goals against Eintracht Frankfurt, Ajax, Newcastle United, and Benfica, which showed that he can step up and perform against top European sides.

The 24-year-old centre-forward scored 15 goals in all competitions for Qarabag, including the five that he scored in the Champions League, whilst Iheanacho only scored nine goals for the Hoops.

Their respective goalscoring records, particularly on the European stage, suggest that Duran would be far more likely to be a prolific scorer for O’Neill at Parkhead in the 2026/27 campaign.

On top of his superior goalscoring skills, the Qarabag star also provided his teammates with ten assists in all competitions, compared to Iheanacho’s one in 24 matches for the Scottish giants.

Duran, therefore, could be an upgrade on the Nigerian striker in almost every sense, because he has a better fitness record, a better goalscoring return, and offers more creativity to his team.

That is why the Hoops should decide to release Iheanacho at the end of the month and spend the £2m that it will take to land the Qarabag sensation this summer.