Site Staff 
New permanent manager Martin O’Neill’s plans are beginning to slowly take shape ahead of the coming 2026/27 Scottish Premiership campaign and the big domestic kick off, but there are a few games left to be decided in this summers World Cup tournament before we reach that point.
With the semi finals with us for the expanded and United States of America, Canada and Mexico competition, plenty of Celtic fans will be staying glued to club news and with the serial winner, and last season’s savour, having sorted out his own contract – and those of his backroom boys – it seems everyone is now on the same page when it comes to those that will more likely than not, move on this summer.
Losing Daizen Maeda, Benjamin Nygren, Arne Engels and Reo Hatate in a single summer would naturally be a blow, and you can bet your bottom dollar that Japanese bookmakers will be all over those moves, but in O’Neill we continue to trust as he looks to rebuild and reshape the squad so that we can get back to consistent performance levels and results and hopefully, completely avoid a season like last year as we move forward and look to the future once again.
One name that the regular Parkhead faithful may not have expected to bounce back onto the transfer window speculation rumour mill was that of Kelechi Iheanacho. The 29 year old, 58 capped Nigerian international striker, was quite the surprising arrival at Celtic Park late on in the summer of 2025 (after deadline day as a free agent), but he started brightly enough as we got him up to speed and by the end of his spell with us he had made eight starting appearances, with a further 16 showings from the substitutes bench – returning nine goals across all competitions.
Whilst he arguably would have wanted some more game time as he was held back with injuries, he eventually moved on as a free agent at the end of the last campaign and many felt that the Celtic door was closed to him despite some very bright moments in our shirt. However, as Monny continues to prepare for the year ahead, he has not ruled out a return for the former Manchester City youngster, and has in fact now confirmed that he wants him back at the club if a suitable deal can be struck between both parties.
Clearly he impressed the gaffer, including his crucial winners in games against Dundee, Hibs and Motherwell – not least the Scottish Cup triumph with his semi final effort against St Mirren, and the Dunfermline clash itself. The question is why did the club not take up the option it is widely believed we held on his short 12 month deal to extend it for another year, as depending on the kind of interest that he now has in him, that could be costly with the benefit of hindsight.
If anything is to happen on this front, we can expect that it will be pretty swiftly as O’Neill made quite the big play about getting him as much of what remains of pre season as possible given he did not have that last year.
Image Source: unsplash.com
Eric Knott 
