-
News
- 7 hours ago
'Amateur hour' - Celtic urged to fix O'Neill's biggest problem
Cameron Smith
- 24 Mar 2026 10:08 GMT
- 5 min read
C
Ex-Celtic star Chris Sutton has taken aim at the club’s current set of centre forwards following their 2-0 defeat to Dundee United on Sunday afternoon.
The Hoops lost crucial ground in the Scottish Premiership title race after rivals Hearts and Rangers both won, and Sutton believes his former club have been let down by their strikers this season.
Current ETV
Kelechi Iheanacho
F (C)
Celtic
Kelechi Iheanacho
F (C)
Celtic
ETV Range
€1.7M - €2.6M
Martin O’Neill is yet to settle on a first-choice number nine at Celtic Park, with Kelechi Iheanacho, Tomas Cvancara, Junior Adamu, Daizen Maeda and Johnny Kenny, who is now on loan at Bolton Wanderers, all spending time in the starting XI throughout the course of the 2025-26 season.
Reports have hinted that Plymouth Argyle hitman Lorent Tolaj has been identified as a key target for the upcoming summer transfer window, while interest in David Datro Fofana could be rekindled as Chelsea look to pursue a permanent sale.
Celtic also have the option to make Cvancara’s loan move from Borussia Monchengladbach a permanent one, although Sutton hasn’t been convinced by any of the Bhoys’ current striker options.
Chris Sutton takes aim at Celtic’s strikers
Speaking on The Daily Record’s Celtic podcast, Sutton said: “The centre forward situation is an absolute shambles. How can the club be in a position where they are, this is part-time stuff. It really is. It’s absolutely amateur hour and I think you can see the frustration in Martin’s face.
“I saw online he was getting criticism about the starting line-up at the weekend. I would love these people who are criticising to try and pick a Celtic team at this moment in time.
“Celtic are desperate, they’re playing like a desperate team and with every selection, every weekend, I bet Martin is just scratching his head, like we all would be. Do I think Celtic will win the league? No. Absolutely not.”
Sutton continued: “That position has been a problem area all season. This is where I do feel for Martin in the fact that he’s watching these players train every day and it’s literally like a lucky dip who is going to play centre-forward week in and week out.
“The fact he has made changes in recent times after 45 minutes just shows you what a mess, what a muddle Celtic are in and that’s not ideal. It was a shock to me Iheanacho starting. I’ve seen a lot of stuff online, people saying, well, he’s our best striker, but I still think he’s miles off it…
“Cvancara, I don’t quite know what he is yet. He seems to be a little bit of everything. Adamu, I watched his finishing before the game and you’re thinking, really? Do you want a big chance to fall to him? Johnny Kenny this season hasn’t worked out.
“We all know what it all goes back to. And, as I said, it’s a guessing game for Martin. He must be tearing his hair out at the fact that he has to work with what he has to work with.”
Football transfer news headlines today
Transfer Rumours: Man Utd move '100% decided' as €350m bid breaks the market
Exclusive: Tottenham told to get back to 'real football' by club legend
Exclusive: Cole Palmer receives Man Utd transfer verdict
Exclusive: Arsenal receive Sandro Tonali transfer warning
Fabrizio Romano Transfer News: Vinicius Jr contract, Enzo Fernandez latest, Spurs next manager
The FootballTransfers app
Check out FootballTransfers' new app for all of football's big storylines, transfer rumours and exclusive news in one convenient place directly on your mobile device.
The FootballTransfers app is available on Google Play and in the Apple App Store. Download here:
Read more about:
Premiership
Celtic
