Why Celtic need to sign the Premiership’s best player after Iheanacho snub

If you don’t laugh, you’ll cry. Just a year on from leaving themselves desperately short heading into Champions League qualifying, Celtic look to be enduring a similarly miserable summer of recruitment.

While their Premiership title rivals have strengthened extensively, the champions’ only signing remains that of Colombian striker, Camilo Duran, after previously confirming the return of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – a player who played just 12 minutes post-split.

The expectation had been that there would also be an extended spell for loan hero, Marcelo Saracchi, although the diminutive left-back took to social media to confirm that, despite his hopes of staying, he will not be part of Martin O’Neill‘s ranks next season.

It’s a similar story too in the case of Kelechi Iheanacho, with O’Neill publicly confirming that he was keen for the Nigerian to pen a new deal, only to see the experienced striker head off to Turkey’s second tier. Go figure.

Why Iheanacho debacle shows everything wrong with Celtic’s recruitment

Let’s face it, Iheanacho wasn’t a player the Hoops should really have signed in the first place, with Brendan Rodgers left scratching around post-deadline for a new centre-forward, following the last-gasp sale of Adam Idah a year ago.

Left with a pool of unproven and uninspiring strikers, namely Shin Yamada and Johnny Kenny, Rodgers sought out a reunion with his former Leicester City star on a free transfer.

The 29-year-old had scored just four goals across 2024/25 and looked well short of fitness in the first-half of 2025/26, shackled to the treatment table as chaos engulfed Parkhead.

And yet, when needed in the tail-end of the season, Celtic’s supersub came alive, notably netting that nerveless spot-kick away at Motherwell to keep the title bid alive.

Wheeled out for mere cameos, the left-footer showcased just what a clinical striker he can be, scoring nine times in 24 games in all, having actually only started eight games.

His five Premiership goals came at a rate of one every 99 minutes, suggesting that for all the frustration of his shortcomings physically, it felt like a no-brainer to trigger his one-year extension.

That chance ultimately came and went, with the title winner seemingly believing in the end that he could secure a better deal elsewhere, even despite initially looking keen to stay.

To not have been able to secure what looked like a tap-in of a transfer doesn’t reflect well on this under-fire Celtic board. They better have a standout alternative lined up…

How Celtic can swiftly move on from Iheanacho with £5m striker signing

It’s 18 months since Kyogo Furuhashi departed for France and the wait for a proven, marquee number nine goes on, with even new man Duran more in the Daizen Maeda mould as a versatile forward, rather than a pure goalscorer and finisher.

There have been suggestions that O’Neill is himself keen on Motherwell’s Tawanda Maswanhise, although things have gone a little quiet on that front, even after the 23-year-old’s goalscoring heroics in 2025/26.

The only Premiership deal that would perhaps eclipse the signing of Maswanhise is a move for Heart star, Claudio Braga, with Football Insider reporting that Celtic are ready to ramp up their bid to sign the Portuguese marksman.

The Edinburgh side are said to be anticipating offers for the 26-year-old, with a fee of around £5m likely to be enough to secure his signature.

Celtic are now prioritising a move for last season’s PFA Scotland Player of the Year, with Hearts resigned to losing yet another key figure, after seeing Cammy Devlin, Lawrence Shankland and Derek McInnes all move to Ibrox.

Braga, considering his exploits last term, might well be the biggest loss of the lot as far as the Jambos are concerned, with the dynamic forward set to prove a real coup for those at Parkhead.

For all Iheanacho’s flashes of quality last time out, Braga’s impact was far more sustained, scoring 14 goals to help propel Hearts into the title mix.

In fact, he actually scored more league goals than Iheanacho played games in the competition (13), suggesting why he would be an upgrade in that sense.

There’s also plenty to like about what Braga offers as a link man too, having created seven ‘big chances’ and averaged 1.3 key passes per game in 2025/26, while also averaging one successful dribble per game.

There’s a dynamism and relentlessness to his game that Iheanacho simply doesn’t possess, the former Leicester man, at times, looking like a player well into his mid-thirties, a far cry from the explosive, exciting youngster who burst onto the scene at Manchester City.

That can be seen by the fact that Iheanacho, now at Bursaspor, averaged just 0.5 successful dribbles per game, while he also created only three ‘big chances’ and averaged 0.4 key passes per game.

The ageing striker would have been a valuable understudy or impact man for O’Neill next term, but he was never going to be the go-to guy through the middle, having shown little to suggest he can be relied upon across a whole season and across multiple fronts.

In Braga, therefore, Celtic could find just what they’re looking for, with this the type of deal that could truly help to kickstart what has been a dismal transfer window so far in Glasgow.