Celtic manager Martin O’Neill faces arguably the most pressing decision of his tenure as the club desperately searches for a reliable frontman heading into next season.
The Hoops have not had a genuine first-choice striker to depend on since Kyogo Furuhashi departed in January 2025, leaving a void that has never truly been filled.
Celtic leaned heavily on Daizen Maeda dropping into the central striking role last season, with the Japanese forward rediscovering his scoring touch to help carry the team’s attacking burden.
Maeda is now heading out of the door, which will leave Celtic with even fewer viable options at the top of the pitch heading into a crucial campaign.
Youngster Callum Osmand showed genuine promise despite a debut season at Parkhead severely disrupted by injury, with goals against Rangers in the League Cup semi-final and a dramatic late winner against Hearts hinting at a bright future.
However, it is widely considered too soon to hand Osmand the responsibility of being Celtic’s first-choice number nine in a season that demands consistent production.
Johnny Kenny gained more game time than anticipated but struggled to carry the attacking load consistently before impressing on a loan spell at Bolton.
Kelechi Iheanacho remains at the centre of the debate, with the Nigerian forward producing nine goals in just eight starts and six goals in the last nine games to help Celtic secure the Double.
Those same statistics reveal the central problem, as Iheanacho missed large portions of the campaign through injury and was rarely effective as a consistent starter even when fit.
One particularly telling moment saw Iheanacho visibly struggling after just 40 minutes at Tannadice before finding a spark from the bench that helped rescue Celtic’s season entirely.
When O’Neill returned for his second spell he poked fun at the frontman in his usual acerbic style, saying he’d love his job, getting paid to play “about two games a season.”
The manager’s quip carried genuine frustration beneath the humour, as Iheanacho had been training for two full months before O’Neill eventually turned to him last term.
Celtic also tried to address their striker problem in January with loan recruits Tomas Cvancara and Junior Adamu, neither of whom managed to make the required impact at the club.
O’Neill and the Celtic hierarchy must now weigh Iheanacho’s clear quality against the financial implications of keeping a high earner who has rarely been available for regular starting duty.
Dermot Desmond has spent years resisting breaking wage caps for individuals, believing that significant pay disparities can create serious problems within dressing rooms.
If Iheanacho can complete a full preseason, stay healthy, and finally begin and finish matches consistently, there is little doubt he possesses the ability to be Celtic’s main attacking threat.
That remains, by any honest assessment, an enormous and deeply uncertain if as O’Neill prepares his squad for the challenges ahead.
The clock is ticking across several positions at Celtic, but the Iheanacho conundrum stands out as the most urgent issue demanding resolution before the European examination begins.
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