Kelechi Iheanacho

Kelechi Iheanacho has been used more as a rotation striker than a fixed starter in the Premiership, with 13 appearances made up of four starts and nine substitute outings. Five league goals from that workload is a useful return, and his two Scottish Cup goals add further evidence that Celtic are getting penalty-box output even without making him the clear first-choice centre-forward.

Iheanacho’s season rating profile is steady rather than dominant, with a 6.81 average, a high of 7.55 and a low of 6.14. That spread suggests a player producing useful moments without yet delivering consistently elite all-round performances.

Iheanacho’s career arc shows a forward with high-level pedigree but a less stable recent phase. The available scoring record includes a peak of 12 goals in 2020-2021, followed by returns of five, four and five goals across the next three seasons, before a move away from Leicester City and a short Sevilla spell. At 29, the Celtic move looks more like a reset than a development step.

The transfer history points to declining leverage in the market: Leicester City to Sevilla on a free transfer, a loan to Middlesbrough, a return to Sevilla, then release before joining Celtic as an unattached player. Celtic have taken on no transfer fee risk, but the sequence also suggests Iheanacho arrived needing to re-establish status and rhythm.