One Celtic player was reportedly offered to a club abroad recently as he ponders his future and works towards earning a deal at Parkhead.
The Bhoys have an interesting summer ahead as they look to strengthen to avoid another disappointing first half of the season.
The Hoops were not their dominant selves last season, and while they did end up winning a double, it was not as comforable as it has often been.
Martin O’Neill clearly wants more, and he is determinded to ensure the board invests significant cash this summer to help get Celtic back to their best, and indeed to qualify for the Champions League.
The Iheanacho decision
Celtic are yet to make up their minds over striker Kelechi Iheanacho, who joined the club in the winter on a short-term deal. But that short-term deal had an additional year built into it, allowing Celtic to extend Iheanacho’s stay if they see fit.
O’Neill likes Iheanacho and what he added to his team in the back-end of last season, but he has also said he wants to see the striker get as fit as he can be during the pre-season.
At this stage, it’s unclear whether O’Neill will move to extend the deal, or whether he will ask Iheanacho to prove his fitness first. In the case of the latter, the option would expire and Celtic would need to agree a new deal altogether.
Iheanacho offered elsewhere
According to a report from Atenção Vascaínos, Iheanacho was recently offered to Brazilian club Vasco de Gama. It’s likely the offer came from his agent, but Vasco decided Iheanacho wasn’t a good fit for the direction they are going in.
That was that as far as any future deal goes, but Celtic fans shouldn’t read too much into the report. Even if it is accurate, this is a normal part of football in these circumstances.
Iheanacho doesn’t know whether he will be offered the chance to stay at Parkhead, so his agent has to start reaching out and finding alternative clubs in case he is sent packing. Not only that, but there is the business side, where the striker’s agent will likely present what Iheanacho is being offered elsewhere in a bid to land a better contract.
It’s likely Celtic’s option to buy includes the same terms as the existing deal, but that option will expire in the next couple of weeks, and as mentioned, it’s certainly not out of the question that the Bhoys get Iheanacho in for pre-season to evaluate his fitness before trying to agree a new deal altogether.