Missed opportunity as striker Celtic could have signed moves to Portugal

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Striker Eduvie Ikoba has secured a move to Portugal with Academico de Viseu after indicating earlier in the summer that he was open to joining Scottish Premiership champions Celtic. 

Despite all the business Celtic did since Brendan Rodgers’ return to Parkhead, the importance of those multiple new signings pales in comparison to retaining Kyogo Furuhashi’s silver-coated services. 

After two games without a goal, Kyogo was Celtic’s matchwinner during a tense 1-0 Old Firm derby victory over Rangers. Fizzing home a stunning volley on the stroke of half time, it is hard to imagine anyone else at Celtic – and in Scotland for that matter – finishing off a chance with such dead-eyed finesse. 

The Hoops tried and failed to bring in Mathias Kvistgaarden from Brondby to ease the goalscoring burden perched on Kyogo’s shoulders, meaning Oh Hyeon-Gyu is the only other player who could conceivably be labelled a ‘natural’ centre-forward in Rodgers’ ranks. 

Celtic may need another striker

Celtic may go back in for the £6 million-rated Kvistgaarden in January should goals remain hard to come by. Eduvie Ikoba, however, may be off the table; securing a deadline day switch to the Portuguese second-tier after making a name for himself in Hungary with Zalaegerszeg. 

Ikoba’s rather unexpected switch to Academico de Viseu – who finished second in LigaPro last term – is made all the more surprising when you consider he was reportedly on the radars of Stuttgart, Hamburg and Bochum.

Not to mention Celtic (Nemzeti Sport).

“(My future) is still uncertain,” the former AS Trencin frontman told Yanks Abroad earlier in the summer.

“I don’t know yet what my future holds, whether I’ll stay or go. If I got a contract from somewhere that would allow me to take another step, I’d consider the opportunity. But it is not beneficial for a professional athlete to think so far ahead.   

“I am only focusing on the next match, because we want to finish the season well. And then, in the summer, I will speak to the club and my agent.” 

Rodgers overreliant on Kyogo Furuhashi

Ikoba scored 13 goals and set up two more for Zalaegerszeg in 2022/23. How well the American adapts to life on the banks of the Mediterranean, meanwhile, may determine whether Celtic’s initial interest ends up being framed as a ‘missed opportunity’ or a ‘bullet dodged’.