Kelechi Iheanacho: Why Celtic were wrong to part ways with Super Eagles striker

Celtic have allowed the option to extend Kelechi Iheanacho’s contract to expire without making a formal offer, leaving the 29-year-old a free agent as pre-season training begins at Lennoxtown, Afrik Foot reports.

The sequence of events is as baffling. Iheanacho wanted to stay, and Martin O’Neill wanted to keep him.

The Celtic fanbase also wanted him retained, and yet the club’s hierarchy allowed the contract option to lapse without a concrete conversation, leaving the former Manchester City striker training alone in Nigeria while rivals circle with lucrative offers.

Turkish clubs have already begun approaching the striker’s camp, and the window for Celtic to act is closing.

The striker’s contribution to Celtic’s domestic double last season was not merely useful; it was decisive. Six goals in nine substitute appearances during the run-in, including winners away to Kilmarnock, Dundee, Hibernian and Motherwell, kept the title charge alive.

He then scored twice in the 6-2 Scottish Cup semi-final rout of St Mirren before adding a goal in the final against Dunfermline to help complete the double.

He is now back in Nigeria, training alone to maintain his fitness, having recently featured in a charity match in Imo State alongside ex-Chelsea midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu.

Kelechi Iheanacho and Lesley Ugochukwu linked up at a charity game in Imo State.

I thought Lesley's dad said the reason his son might not consider playing for Nigeria is because of insecurity.

So many things I don't understand… pic.twitter.com/49QreNzUjz

— 𝐁𝐚𝐨𝐣𝐢𝐬_𝐌𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚©️ ™️ (@ojobabatundeiso) June 26, 2026

Kelechi Iheanacho’s party respond to Celtic’s decision

John Inglis, a former agent who remains a close friend of the striker, did not mince words in his assessment of the situation.

“Celtic should absolutely look to keep Kelechi,” he told the Scottish Sun.

“I know how much he loved playing for the club last season and the joy he took from winning the big trophies.

“I think he proved himself with very important goals. Kelechi’s just a brilliant finisher in the box.”

Inglis also revealed the backstory of a player who has harboured a genuine affection for Celtic for longer than many realise.

“He almost went to Celtic at the start of last year after Brendan Rodgers came in for him.

“We had good discussions over the possibility and Kelechi was very keen to play again for Brendan, but Middlesbrough were really determined for his signature and even sent a private jet for him.”

The agent’s most pointed observation, however, concerned the fitness problems that have followed Kelechi Iheanacho since he left Leicester City.

“What I do think is vital is that he gets a full pre-season with a team, and if Celtic are to do anything to keep him, then I’d urge them to move quickly.

“Kelechi has missed the last couple of pre-seasons, and it’s left him having to play catch-up with his fitness going into the seasons that have followed.

“It happened again when he went to Celtic, and it took him time to get up to speed.

“But everyone saw how good he can be. He’s a big game player and a tremendous pressure moment finisher,” the 59-year-old concluded.

Celtic’s reluctance to act may largely be rooted in concerns about his availability and fitness.

Why Celtic were wrong to part ways with Iheanacho

The decision to let the option lapse is one that Celtic may come to regret before the first half of next season goes by, and the reasons are not hard to identify.

Celtic are entering a season with no fit striker under contract, with Tomas Cvancara back at Borussia Mönchengladbach and Daizen Maeda on his way out with a year remaining on his deal.

O’Neill needs not one but two or three strikers, according to former defender Charlie Mulgrew, and in a transfer market where proven goalscorers command significant fees and lengthy negotiations, the idea of allowing one to leave for free is a failure of basic squad management.

The cost argument does not hold up under scrutiny either. Iheanacho arrived on a free transfer from Sevilla last September, and a renewed deal for a 29-year-old would not command the kind of wages that would strain even Celtic’s notoriously cautious budget.

What replacing him on the transfer market would cost, in transfer fees, in wages for an unknown quantity, in the time required for any new striker to adapt to Scottish football, would dwarf whatever Iheanacho’s renewal demands are.

On the flip side, their decision to let the former Sevilla striker walk might mean that they have other plans in place to bring in attackers when pre-season training starts.