It’s approaching 18 months since Celtic allowed Kyogo Furuhashi to depart for Rennes, with it fair to say that the £10m sale of the Japanese striker hasn’t worked out for anyone.
The 31-year-old failed to score at all in France prior to joining Birmingham City just six months later, having since ended 2025/26 with just a solitary goal to his name in England’s second tier.
As for those back at Parkhead, a raft of striker signings have all been made, albeit with Shin Yamada the only one to actually command a transfer fee, with Kyogo’s compatriot shipped out on loan in January after failing to score at all in Glasgow.
The heroics of Daizen Maeda were ultimately enough to drag Martin O’Neill‘s men over the line in the title race regardless, but persisting without an elite, leading number nine simply isn’t sustainable.
Thankfully, the arrival of Camilo Duran from Qarabag could well help to change that.
How Duran performed in the Champions League last season
For a reported fee of £6m, Duran is set to join Celtic as the first signing of the summer under O’Neill, the Colombian fresh from having scored and assisted 25 goals in 45 games in Azerbaijan.
A versatile forward who can operate off the right flank or through the middle, it was as a striker where the left-footer proved so deadly last term, not least in the Champions League.
In just ten league phase outings, the 24-year-old scored five times as Qarabag reached the play-off round, missing only three ‘big chances’ and boasting a 25% goal conversion rate.
In the competition a year earlier, Kyogo scored just once in seven games, missed three ‘big chances’ himself and had a goal conversion rate of only 10%.
The £6m man’s recent record certainly bodes well for the impact he can make should Celtic book their place back in the Champions League proper, with his five goals coming against Benfica, Ajax, Eintracht Frankfurt and Newcastle United.
Duran’s finish away in Lisbon was particularly eye-catching, having burst in behind down the left channel, before lashing home from the angle in sumptuous style.
Looks can be deceiving, but the initial impressions are positive, with Duran seen popping up all over the front line, a player with a lovely blend of speed and trickery.
He’s something O’Neill doesn’t have right now, but is he actually the proper number nine the Hoops are in need of?
Why Celtic could still sign an upgrade on Duran
Speaking this week, following Celtic’s pre-season clash with Shelbourne, O’Neill made it clear that he still wants another striker in the building, someone who can be that ruthless figurehead in front of goal.
“I think he [Durán] can link play-up and things like this, but I think maybe we could do with somebody who can put the ball in the net.”
O’Neill did also reveal that he is keen to bring Kelechi Iheanacho back into the fold, with Sky Sports’ Anthony Joseph since confirming that the club are in talks over a new deal for the Nigerian.
Currently out of contract after the expiry of his contract last month, Iheanacho might well still have a future in Glasgow, with O’Neill keen to wrap up a deal as soon as possible, in order to give the 29-year-old a full pre-season.
As the Hoops boss admitted, Duran might be the pacy linkman, but it is that real killer that Celtic need in front of goal, with a fit and firing Iheanacho likely to provide that.’s Anh
Of course, Duran did score 15 goals back in Azerbaijan, but he’s only scored six senior goals prior to that, still finding his feet in terms of being a truly consistent, clinical presence in front of goal.
Iheanacho has his issues, unquestionably, yet when wheeled out in mere cameos last season, he was simply so effective, looking back to the player who scored 61 goals in 232 games at Leicester City, or 21 in just 64 at Manchester City.
|
Iheanacho Career Record |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Club |
Games |
Goals |
|
Leicester |
232 |
61 |
|
Man City |
64 |
21 |
|
Celtic |
24 |
9 |
|
Boro |
15 |
1 |
|
Sevilla |
11 |
3 |
|
Nigeria |
58 |
15 |
The legs might not be quite what they once were, but boy does he know how to finish, ending 2025/26 with nine goals in all competitions, despite making only 24 appearances.
A cult hero, not least for his decisive penalties away at Kilmarnock and Motherwell, Iheanacho scored at a rate of one goal every 99 minutes in the Premiership, having boasted a 25% goal conversion rate.
Duran did eclipse that tally of five goals after bagging nine in the Azerbaijan top-flight, yet he scored just once every 233 minutes, with a goal conversion rate of only 12%.
That suggests that if O’Neill can get Iheanacho up to speed, the former Foxes star might well be the man to build the attack around, with Iheanacho proving himself to be so effective in fits and starts last season.
He’s cool and composed in front of goal, so lethal on that left foot, with it fair to say that the domestic double wouldn’t have been achieved without him.
