Celtic's biggest summer transfer mistake was allowing best goalscorer to leave

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Martin Macdonald | Writer

Celtic recognised their desperate need for more firepower in the summer as they splurged just under €20m to sign Camilo Duran from Qarabag and Kasper Hogh from Bodo/Glimt.

Both seemed like superb pieces of business as Duran looked excellent in pre-season and continued his goalscoring form into the start of the new campaign, with a screamer against LASK in the Champions League playoff the highlight so far.

Hogh, meanwhile, scored a hat-trick away at Kilmarnock and everything appeared to be rosy. However, the Dane has subsequently failed to produce in front of goal, not finding the back of the net since that win at Killie on 9 August.

Nobody can deny Hogh's work rate, but he is perhaps not the 20-goal-a-season striker that the Hoops have been desperately looking for ever since Kyogo Furuhashi was sold in January of 2025 and inexplicably not replaced.

He's even lost his place as starting centre-forward to Duran, who was shifted out to the right wing for the first couple of months of the season before moving into his favoured role through the middle.

Even the Colombian, while undoubtedly a good player, has displayed an aloof manner at times that has seen some fans question his attitude.

Duran also drifts from that central position to get involved in the game, sometimes needlessly, which means there can be occasions with no predatory striker in the box to finish chances.

And, to rub salt in the wounds, Celtic allowed that predatory striker to leave in the summer, for free, with no farewell.

Kelechi Iheanacho signed for Celtic on a free transfer in September of 2025, after agreeing to terminate his contract with Spanish side Sevilla.

The move came after Celtic struggled to find a replacement for Adam Idah, who joined Swansea on transfer deadline day. Celtic had explored other options, including Anderlecht striker Kasper Dolberg and Chelsea forward David Datro Fofana, but neither deal materialised.

It was seen as a desperate move at the time and one that only came about due to then-manager Brendan Rodgers' contacts rather than a thorough scouting investigation.

Iheanacho turned up to Celtic unfit and overweight and although that fitness would never truly reach its maximum in his time at the club, his quality was undeniable.

The Nigerian striker scored nine goals in 24 appearances across all competitions, despite playing a relatively limited role in the team.

His biggest contributions came towards the end of the 2025/26 season, when Celtic were competing for the Scottish Premiership title against Rangers and surprise leaders, Hearts. Iheanacho scored shortly after coming off the bench in a 2-1 win over Hibernian, before converting a stoppage-time penalty in a dramatic 3-2 victory against Motherwell.

Overall, Iheanacho demonstrated his ability to deliver in crucial moments, with late goals and penalties making him a valuable option for Celtic even when he was not a regular starter.

Ultimately, the club decided against offering him a contract beyond the summer and that was a decision that was perhaps the wrong one, as he has lit up TFF 1. Lig with Bursaspor since moving to Turkey.

In 11 appearances in the second tier, he has scored no less than 15 goals. The merits of the TFF1. Lig as a competitive division are up for debate but what is not is Iheanacho's prowess as an out-and-out finisher - something that Celtic could be doing with at the moment.