It wasn’t exactly pretty, but Celtic got the job done on Wednesday at Aberdeen, moving back into second and just five points behind the Premiership leaders.
There remains that nagging feeling that had the Hoops avoided Wilfried Nancy’s disaster stint, which yielded two wins and four defeats from six league games, they would very much be leading from the front.
Alas, Martin O’Neill is having to make up for lost time, doing so with an underwhelming, bloated squad at that, with the trip to Pittodrie proving another disappointing day for the 74-year-old’s attacking options.
Not since the Scottish Cup clash with Dundee has a recognised striker scored for the club, with doubts firmly emerging regarding both Tomas Cvancara and Junior Adamu.
Perhaps the pair simply needed time to adjust, although even former loan star, Adam Idah, caught fire far more swiftly.
How Adamu & Cvancara compare to Idah’s loan spell
On Sunday afternoon, O’Neill hooked the aforementioned Adamu at the break, while Cvancara didn’t even make it off the bench in that derby draw, having seen Daizen Maeda slot in ahead of him as the makeshift striker.
This time around, it was the Czech striker who did get the nod, while Adamu watched on from the sidelines, with the closing stages again seeing the Hoops resort to deploying Maeda through the middle.
On what was his ninth appearance since signing from Borussia Monchengladbach on loan, Cvancara has netted just once thus far, his only goal coming in the 2-0 win over Falkirk last month.
As for Adamu, despite bright moments such as his assist away in Stuttgart, the Austrian hasn’t got going either, failing to score again since his last-gasp heroics on debut in the cup.
The 24-year-old’s record stands at just one in five Celtic games, with neither man getting close to the impact that Idah made back in 2024, having scored a brace on his second league appearance against Hibernian, after signing on loan from Norwich City.
The Irishman’s first five league games saw him rack up five goals, while he ended that six-month stint with nine in 19 games, including that winner at Hampden.
There is plenty more football ahead for Cvancara or Adamu to reach that tally, yet the early signs haven’t been too promising, hence why O’Neill may need to settle on a permanent alternative.
£14m-rated Celtic star could now be unleashed in new role
The loss of Kyogo Furuhashi, and to a lesser degree that of Idah, has been followed by something of a disaster season in the striker department at Parkhead, with Johnny Kenny – now out on loan at Bolton Wanderers – still the leading centre-forward with six goals in 2025/26.
Shin Yamada has also been sent packing, Callum Osmand remains on the sidelines, while Kelechi Iheanacho can’t be relied upon, hence why Adamu and Cvancara were brought in in January.
For O’Neill to have returned to Maeda so swiftly is telling of what he thinks of those new faces, albeit with the Japanese speedster not exactly thriving himself, with his wayward second-half strike on Wednesday night the mark of a man who has scored just once since O’Neill returned to the dugout.
With that in mind, it might be worth trialling leading goalscorer, Benjamin Nygren, as an unorthodox option through the middle instead, with the versatile Swede having previously lined up in that role during his senior career, as well on the right wing.
At present, it’s fair to say that the 19-goal star is thriving as a box-crashing option in an advanced midfield role, again popping up with the vital goal against the Dons, just about beating the offside trap.
There may be a sense why change what isn’t broken, while Nygren’s lack of mobility could be an issue in behind a defence, although at 6 foot 2, he has the build to be a target man or focal point if required.
Indeed, nudging the 24-year-old into a more advanced role would then allow the lively Luke McCowan to slot in behind him as that creative link between the midfield and forward line, with the Scotsman netting away in Germany last week, while coming close to scoring off the bench during an impactful cameo at Ibrox.
|
Nygren – SPFL record in 2026 |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Date |
Opponent |
Goals |
|
03/01 |
Rangers |
|
|
10/01 |
Dundee Utd |
1 |
|
14/01 |
Falkirk |
1 |
|
25/01 |
Hearts |
1 |
|
01/02 |
Falkirk |
1 |
|
11/02 |
Livingston |
|
|
15/02 |
Kilmarnock |
1 |
|
22/02 |
Hibernian |
1 |
|
01/03 |
Rangers |
|
|
04/03 |
Aberdeen |
1 |
In 41 career outings previously as a centre-forward, as per Transfermarkt, Nygren has scored 17 times, ensuring it wouldn’t exactly be throwing him in the deep end, if O’Neill were to make the change.
The former Nordsjaelland man – who is valued at €16m (£14m), as per CIES Football Observatory – has been a revelation this season, having carried the goalscoring burden largely on his own, not least in 2026.
Getting him even closer to goal then could be a wise move over the coming weeks and months, with Celtic’s current striker picks just not quite cutting it.
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