Where next for the Celtic loanee? Brendan Rodgers is not keen and his new manager is hardly impressed either.
After the signings of Teemu Pukki and Amido Balde resulted in little more than disappointment and frequent anonymous displays, Celtic would have been hoping that Nadir Ciftci could succeed where the duo failed.
However a tally of four goals in 26 games suggested two things: one, that the former Dundee United striker was not cut out for life at the top of the Scottish game. And, two, that a few testing questions need to be asked of the club’s scouting department.
According to the Daily Record, the Turkish forward only made his eleventh-hour loan move to Polish side Pogon Szczecin (us neither) after trying and failing to secure a permanent exit in the January transfer window.
And, as it stands, however, Ciftci may well be booking a flight and boomeranging his way back to Glasgow at the end of the season.
The former Portsmouth youngster has not scored a goal or even notched an assist in six games in Poland with Szczecin yet to win a single match in which he has featured. And, coupled with his ongoing profligacy, the club’s manager has also found fault with his fitness.
“Expectations were high when he arrived, perhaps too high,” Kazimierz Moskal said in quotes reported by the Daily Record.
“He wants to play and help the team, but for now we have to rebuild his fitness and confidence. I believe that Nadir has the skills and will show them in the end, although I accept it hasn’t looked good so far.”
It looks like he will have to shape up, both literally and metaphorically. Brendan Rodgers only handed the 25-year-old 13 minutes of Scottish Premiership action this season and it appears he is dangerously close to ‘last chance saloon’ territory.
Ciftci has reached his nadir.
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