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Feature
- 13 minutes ago
Celtic feud erupts as manager slams €8m star: I won't play him!
Tom Weber
- Updated: 18 Mar 2026 10:11 GMT
- 4 min read
News
Celtic boss Martin O'Neill is faced with an unwelcome distraction as Tomas Cvancara appears to have fallen out with Czech Republic boss Miroslav Koubek.
The towering striker arrived at Parkhead in January on a six-month loan from Bundesliga side Borussia Monchengladbach. A €10.5 million flop in Germany, Cvancara was coming off a hugely disappointing loan in Turkey.
O'Neill made sure to temper expectations even before Cvancara was officially announced, emphasising that he would not be the next Henrik Larsson. This was a wise move as the 25-year-old has so far only shown his quality in glimpses.
Current ETV
Tomas Cvancara
F (C)
Celtic
Tomas Cvancara
F (C)
Celtic
ETV Range
€1.7M - €2.6M
A return of two goals and two assists in 11 games is nothing to write home about, but he scored the decisive penalty as Celtic beat Rangers in the quarter-final of the Scottish Cup. The Hoops have the option to make his stay permanent for €8m this summer.
Last month, Cvancara was asked about his ambitions for the season. Somewhat surprisingly, despite it being a World Cup year and the Czech Republic still having a chance of qualifying, he insisted that he is solely focused on Celtic.
Czechia boss hits back at Cvancara
"I want to prove myself and prove why I came," the 25-year-old explained. "Maybe, if I’m going to be good enough, show the board and everyone that they have to sign me for the future. This is my goal. I will just try to do my best.
"It would be an honour [to return to the national team] again, but to be honest, this is not my goal in the future. I would say that I want more to focus on the club, that I want to prove that I am good enough, that I deserve to be here, that I want to score goals, make assists, and help the team.
"This is, for me, the closest step in my career, and if they call me up, they call me up, if they don't, they don't, but I want to prove that I am good enough to be at Celtic."
These comments evidently didn't go down well in Prague. Czech Republic boss Miroslav Koubek has opted against calling Cvancara up for the upcoming international break and insisted that the striker is no longer a "priority" for him after his comments.
"We considered what awaits us and what mentality is suitable for this game," Koubek said. "Cvancara expressed himself that the national team is not a priority for him. As a coach, I say that it is not a priority for me to take a player for whom the national team is not a priority."
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