Who is Tomas Cvancara? The man burdened with ending Celtic's striker problem

Martin Macdonald

• 21 Jan 2026 10:01 CST
• 5 min read

Nieuws

It looks like Celtic are finally going to sign a centre-forward, having been in the market for a player to spearhead their attack for a year.

In January of 2025, talismanic striker Kyogo Furuhashi was sold to Rennes and then never replaced in that window. He wasn't replaced in the summer window, either, and Celtic subsequently sold their other main striker, Adam Idah, to Swansea.

It was the handling of the centre-forward position at the club that has partly led to an extremely strained relationship between the club and the fanbase.

The Celtic fans were left furious at their striking options available: Johnny Kenny, prolific in Ireland but who has proved not to be of the level required, Shin Yamada, unproven and certainly not up to the job, either, and Daizen Maeda, forced out of his usual left-wing berth.

🚨💥 EXCL | Tomas Cvancara to Celtic - DONE DEAL ✔️

Full agreement with Borussia Mönchengladbach now. Six-month loan, with a purchase option included. Celtic will cover the player’s full remaining salary until the end of the season.

25 y/o striker #Cvancara is on his way to… pic.twitter.com/tk8mnzaPMG

— Florian Plettenberg (@Plettigoal) January 20, 2026

Maeda and Kenny have 11 goals in the league between them this season and Yamada hasn't score at all in the Premiership.

There does appear to be progress to solve this issue, though, as the Hoops are on the cusp of signing centre-forward Tomas Cvancara on loan from Borussia Monchengladbach with the option to buy this summer.

Let's meet him.

What position does Tomas Cvancara play in?

He is usually deployed as a striker but some of his best work for Sparta Prague came as a supporting striker or even as a wide-man, as he possesses impressive acceleration despite being around 6ft 2in.

How good is Tomas Cvancara?

Cvancara has already played for six clubs in his career - Jablonec, Slavoj Vysehrad (loan), Opava (loan), Sparta Prague, Gladbach and Antalyaspor (loan).

The best period of his career undoubtedly came with Sparta Prague where he scored 19 goals in 39 Czech First League matches.

It was that kind of form that led Gladbach to shell out €10.5m to sign him in 2023. Thereafter, however, he struggled with the step-up to German Bundesliga football and has netted on just five occasions across 48 league appearances.

His loan move to Antalyaspor was similarly disappointing as he scored just once in seven Turkish Super Lig games in 2025/26.

Celtic will be hoping that he can reclaim his good form at Sparta Prague and, he'll undoubtedly still come in to Celtic Park as an upgrade on the options currently available.

FootballTransfers' German football expert Tom Webber says of Cvancara:

"Tomas Cvancara arrived at Borussia Monchengladbach in 2023 as the heir to Marcus Thuram following his departure for Inter. The Czech was Gladbach's marquee signing that summer, but to say that he failed to adequately replace the Frenchman would be an understatement.

"On paper, Cvancara has all the attributes of a modern centre-forward. He is tall and can hold up the ball, while also having the technical ability to combine with teammates and to even beat a player on the dribble. For some reason, though, he has been unable to show any of this since leaving Sparta Prague in 2023.

"He only scored eight goals for Gladbach in 54 appearances and often looked out of his depth, lacking explosiveness, calmness in front of goal and, just generally, interest.

"Niggling injuries in his first season at Gladbach prevented him from getting into any kind of rhythm, and things kept going downhill from there. He was replaced with Germany international Tim Kleindienst after just a year."

What clubs are interested in Tomas Cvancara?

Cvancara was recalled early from his loan spell in Turkey so there were no other teams interested in this January window.

How old is Tomas Cvancara?

Cvancara was born on 13 August, 2000. He is 25 years old.

When does Tomas Cvancara's contract expire?

Cvancara's Gladbach contract expires on 30 June, 2028.

What is Tomas Cvancara's Instagram?

Cvancara's Instagram can be found here. He has 102k followers.

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