Transfer window farce continues with Kelechi Iheanacho deal

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The Celtic Star

·3 settembre 2025

Transfer window farce continues with Kelechi Iheanacho deal

Celtic’s transfer window descended into farce, but it seems we’re not quite finished yet with a one-year deal being given to ‘free agent’ Kelechi Iheanacho…

Peter Lawwell, Michael Nicholson and Chris McKay applaud during the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Livingston at Celtic Park on August 23, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

The promises of strengthening a squad chasing silverware and Champions League progression instead left the club scrambling in the dying embers of the window, back at the feet of a striker in Kelechi Iheanacho who represents everything Celtic should now avoid.

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Iheanacho was reported to be a target late into the night on in Deadline Day, a deal apparently couldn’t be agreed with Sevilla. Then just before the window closed, he was released by the La Liga club, with his agency rumoured to have bought him out of his deal. Celtic couldn’t get the move across the line, but this bought some time. Free agents can still sign after the end of the transfer window and yesterday Celtic confirmed that signing.

“Celtic Football Club is delighted to announce the signing of Kelechi Iheanacho on a one-year deal, subject to international clearance, with the club having the option of a further year.”

✍️ 🇳🇬 Celtic Football Club is delighted to announce the signing of Kelechi Iheanacho on a one-year deal, subject to international clearance, with the club having the option of a further year. #WelcomeKelechi | #CelticFC🍀
– martedì 2 settembre 2025

Yes, Iheanacho was once a prodigy. Player of the tournament and top scorer at the U17 World Cup, a teenager tipped for stardom at Manchester City, and in 2022/23 season Leicester City’s Player of the Year under Brendan Rodgers. But this is a move we should never have revisited. Not after he turned us down in January. Not after four years yielding a mere 14 league goals across spells in England and Spain. Not with Middlesbrough and Sevilla supporters lining up to warn Celtic fans that the Nigerian international has long since lost his spark, his hunger –for the game that is – and crucially, his sharpness in front of goal.

The concern is twofold. First, wages and fees. Iheanacho will not arrive on the cheap. Having been freed from his contract, a substantial signing-on fee is almost inevitable. As is a lengthy contract at least it’s only for one year as many feared this would be a deal for two, perhaps even three years, not least because of the role his representatives may have played in engineering his exit.

Add to that, wages befitting a striker with Premier League experience, and suddenly Celtic are paying a premium for a player his recent club struggled to offload. That is not prudent recruitment, it is desperation disguised as ambition.

Secondly there’s the changing room. Footballers are not blind to reality. They will recognise within minutes whether a new arrival has the appetite and drive to contribute. Players talk, and Celtic’s squad will have connections to those who have already worked with Iheanacho. They will know the background. And if the consensus is that he has mentally checked out of the game, then his presence becomes toxic rather than galvanising. A squad chasing unity and collective belief cannot carry passengers, never mind one parachuted in on inflated wages.

Brendan Rodgers during the Premier League match between Celtic and Livingston at Celtic Park on August 23, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

For Brendan Rodgers, the temptation is obvious. He publicly stated that Adam Idah would not be allowed to leave unless a striker came in. Now, backed into a corner, he faces the risk of appearing undermined by his own board if no reinforcement arrives. But the other path is honesty. Rodgers could accept he has been let down, admit as much with the right verbal gymnastics employed to protect the image of unity, and rally the fans to get behind the players already in the building. He has the tools to build that siege mentality – the us-against-them spirit that can turn a fractured transfer window into fuel for the campaign ahead.

Signing Iheanacho, however, does not solve Celtic’s problems. It would merely compound them. The board would hail it as ambition when in truth it would be a panic signing to cover their own failures. Supporters would not be fooled. A player who arrives out of condition, without recent pedigree, and unwanted by his last two clubs does not inspire. He drains.

There are rumours Celtic had Turkish competition for his services, maybe even Saudi interest too. That was a possible, but it may also have been leverage from the player’s representatives to maximise his earnings and signing on fee with Celtic.

Brendan Rodgers after the Premier League match between Celtic and Livingston at Celtic Park on August 23, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Celtic would have been better to go with what we have. Rodgers should have taken the hit, use it to galvanise his group, and force this board to answer real questions when November’s AGM arrives. This short-term fix is not what this squad needs. If unity is the requirement, then bringing in a player fans of previous clubs believed had checked out, on high wages, is the very last thing Celtic should have done.

Sometimes the bravest decision is the one not to sign. Yesterday was one of those moments. New that Kelechi Iheanacho has signed all we can do is wish him well and hope that his many doubters have got this one wrong. But the reputational damage that has been done to the Celtic custodians will certainly not be repaired by this panic purchase. There’s no chance of that because the damage has already been done.

Niall J

Celtic in the Eighties – Out Now! In Celtic shops on Friday…

Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter, out now!

Celtic in the Eighties by the late, great David Potter is published this Friday 5 September by Celtic Star Books. All pre-ordered copies have now been signed by Celtic legend Danny McGrain who has also written the foreword for David Potter’s final book.

These copies have now been posted to everyone who has pre-ordered with copies being send all over the world. It’s been an incredible response, so thank you to each and every one of you who will be receiving your signed book shorty.

Celtic in the Eighties will be available in the Celtic superstore and all other club shops from Friday 5 September. And don’t forget that you can still purchase your copy from Celticstarbooks.com for same day postage. The next 30 orders will also receive a FREE copy of an earlier David Potter book, Alec McNair, Celtic’s Icicle then that wonderful David Potter book will be out of stock.