IN DARK TIMES, IS KELECHI IHEANACHO CELTIC’S MISSING SPARK?
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- Sep 6
- 2 min read
Like almost all of you, I was both angry and confused as Celtic’s transfer deadline day scramble seemed to lurched from one failure to the next.
We got more knock-backs on Monday, than a desperate drunk trying to find romance on the dancefloor of a Glasgow nightclub ten minutes before its 3am closure, and his, inevitable, solo taxi ride home.
Anger turned to a mix of indignation and bemusement on Tuesday as we managed to get the signing of Kelechi Ineanacho over the line just in time before the Europa League deadline.
Thanks in no small part to Sevilla being kind enough to jettison the striker, making him a free agent.
Kelechi Iheanacho: Celtic Fans Encouraged by Leaked Training Video (Yes, it is Genuine)
For me, bemusement shifted back to anger as I heard that Shin Yamada and Johnny Kenny (both of whom have worked tremendously hard despite not getting a good run of games this season) were left out of the Europa League squad in favor of “Brendan Rodgers’ mate” who by most accounts was very unfit, overweight and several weeks away from being able to contribute.
Of course, the AI altered images of a sweaty pot-bellied Iheanacho sporting breasts of the size we used to see on page three of The S*n doing the rounds online on Wednesday, didn’t help matters.
Thankfully though footage has emerged today of the player working extremely hard, training alone in Manchester.
Iheanacho posted the short video to his own Instagram account. It showed a lean, and agile player, going through what looked like fairly routine movement and shooting drills.
He certainly didn’t look fat, or anywhere near as out of condition as I and indeed many of us among the Celtic support have been led to believe.
Of course, like many of you, I was more than a wee bit skeptical when I saw this player, who looked nothing like the absolute waster I’d been told we’d signed.
But the video is genuine, it was made this week and it is him. Its not doctored or filtered. I suspect that Iheanacho himself probably saw some of the anger and negativity circulating online over the past few days and sought to set the record straight.
If only the Celtic board had his eagerness to come out directly, and right any perceived wrongs spoken about them.
Nonetheless, in a week when it just seems to have been one sledgehammer over the head after another to our title ambitions, and team morale, this is, finally, a bit of good news.
I don’t know if Kelechi Iheanacho will make the grade at Celtic or not. Judging by the fact he’s only been given a one-year deal initially, I suspect the coaching staff aren’t entirely sure either.
However, if there is one thing Celtic have consistently done well over the past few years, it is to provide a platform for English Premier League stars who have lost their way and want to relaunch their careers.
It’s very early days, but you never know, perhaps this Kelechi Iheanacho Celtic move might actually work out well after all.
