Celtic face potentially big Norwich City transfer regret - It'll be like Teemu Pukki all over again | OneFootball

Celtic will be hoping to avoid a repeat of their Teemu Pukki saga.

Norwich City recently confirmed the signing of Danish striker Mathias Kvistgaarden.

The Canaries triggered a £6.9 million release clause in the 23-year-old’s contract at Brøndby, which saw Liam Manning’s side pay a significant amount less than the £11 million valuation that was once rumoured.

Scottish giants Celtic had been tracking Kvistgaarden for nearly two years and tried to sign the forward in January, and the Hoops were reportedly unaware of the Dane’s release clause, making missing out on the striker all the more disappointing.

Celtic have prior experience concerning Nordic strikers and Norwich City, with a sense of déjà vu potentially beginning to emerge.

Celtic may be reminded of Teemu Pukki regret amid Mathias Kvistgaarden saga

Before his time as a Carrow Road legend, Teemu Pukki was an unknown quantity in the British game.

Celtic were fresh off the back of their second successive Scottish Premiership title in the summer of 2013, and turned to the transfer market to add some extra firepower.

The Hoops signed Pukki from German outfit Schalke on a four-year deal, but it became quickly apparent that the forward wasn’t adapting to the change in footballing culture.

Despite scoring on his debut against Hearts, the Finn would only net six more times for Neil Lennon’s side that year and was loaned out to Brøndby the following season.

That deal was made permanent, but soon Pukki would be back in British football.

Norwich City signed the striker in 2018 after he failed to agree a new contract with the Danish club, and the rest is history.

He scored a staggering 30 goals in 46 appearances for Daniel Farke's side during his first term, helping the Canaries clinch the Championship title, whilst picking up the division’s Player of the Season award for the 2018/19 campaign.

Pukki would continue to impress in the top-flight, scoring five goals in Norwich’s first three games to clinch the August Player of the Month prize.

Come the end of the 19/20 campaign, the Canaries suffered relegation, but the Finnish striker would return an impressive 11 Premier League goals in 36 appearances that year.

Back in the second-tier, it was more of the same for Pukki, and he scored 26 goals in 42 games as Norwich won the Championship title for the second time in three years.

By the summer of 2023, when the forward eventually left Carrow Road, he had scored 88 goals in 210 appearances for Norwich, with Celtic ultimately ruing their decision to let the striker go.

Mathias Kvistgaarden will hope to replicate Teemu Pukki’s Norwich City success

There are a lot of similarities between Kvistgaarden and Pukki’s Norwich arrivals, with Celtic and Brøndby both involved in the saga once again.

The Canaries’ new addition won’t necessarily be moving to Carrow Road with the target in mind being to replicate the club legend’s success, as few players will get close to that.

However, Kvistgaarden netted 23 times last term, and so arrives in England with obvious goalscoring credentials and with the hope that he could be Norwich’s focal point of the future, which could be made easier if Josh Sargent exits.

If the young forward can follow in Pukki’s footsteps successfully, Celtic may once again be left with massive regret, and Norwich with another cult hero.