Celtic have loaned Nadir Ciftci out to Pogon Szczecin – and he’s already making an impression.
Celtic’s Nadir Ciftci in action
Pogon Szczecin manager Kazimierz Moskal has been quoted by the Daily Record as saying that it’s clear how much potential new signing Nadir Ciftci has.
Ciftci, 25, joined Celtic from Dundee United back in the summer of 2015 having hit 33 goals in just 82 games for the Terrors, with Ronny Deila moving to land the striker to boost his attacking options.
However, the Turkish attacker struggled to make an impact under Deila last season, as he played just 11 league games, scoring four goals for the Bhoys before being loaned out to Eskisehirspor in January 2016.
Having failed to displace Leigh Griffiths as Celtic’s first-choice striker, Ciftci was already facing an uphill battle to feature under new manager Brendan Rodgers – and he slipped even further down the pecking order when Moussa Dembele joined the club.
This term, Ciftci has played just four times for Celtic, and didn’t appear at all between August and February, with two appearances earlier this month before being allowed to leave Celtic Park.
Ciftci penned a loan deal with Polish side Pogon Szczecin last week, and made his debut against Cracovia on Sunday, playing 19 minutes having come on as a substitute in the second half.
Now, Pogon manager Kazimierz Moskal has been quoted by the Daily Record as saying he has already spotted the striker’s potential during his short spell in Poland so far.
Nadir Ciftci celebrates scoring for Celtic
Moskal added that Ciftci as ‘great skill’ and should become a key player during his time with Pogon, though did offer words of caution over his fitness levels.
“Nadir has only been with us for a very short period of time but already we can see his potential,” said Moskal. “We need to assess him for his match fitness. But he’s proved he’s got great skill and he will be an important player for us,” he added.
Having made just four appearances under Rodgers – none of which were starts – it seems unlikely that the striker will ever play for the Celtic boss again once he returns from his loan spell, especially considering that The Sun reported last week that the Bhoys are keen on Chelsea attacker Dominic Solanke.
A permanent exit this summer seems most likely for Ciftci, who may well feel that the writing is on the wall having been loaned out by Celtic for a second time.
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