Celtic return to Scottish Premiership action on Wednesday night when they welcome Livingston to Parkhead following their win over Dundee in the SFA Cup.
Martin O’Neill’s side needed extra time to defeat Stephen Pressley’s side last weekend after Ethan Hamilton’s goal put them ahead.
Junior Adam’s equalizing goal in the 97th minute sent the game into extra time, keeping the Hoops in the game, but Sebastian Tunekuti’s goal at the start of extra time sealed their place in the quarter-finals.
It was a dream debut for Adam, who arrived on loan from Freiburg on deadline day, coming off the bench and brilliantly flicking Tunekti’s ball across the box into the bottom corner.
The Austrian international scored just one goal in the Bundesliga in the first half of the season, but between 2020/21 and 2022/23 he has scored 32 goals, showing he has the potential to become a regular goalscorer.
How can Celtic play Junior Adam and Tomas Kvankala together?
Adam, who scored against Dundee at Parkhead on Saturday, could be a candidate to start in his Premiership debut against Kilmarnock.
But the problem is that Tomas Kvankala has scored and assisted in his first two league games since arriving on loan from Borussia Mönchengladbach, meaning O’Neill has to find a way for the pair to play together.
Adam has played nine games as a right winger in his club career. He could start on the right wing against Dundee in place of Joel Mvuka, who hooked up 45 minutes into his Celtic career, with Kvankala potentially moving into the middle.
That would leave Tunekti and Hyun-Jung Yang competing for a starting spot on the left, with James Forrest and Mvuka providing support on the right.
Alternatively, O’Neill could keep Adam as an impact substitute for now and bring him in for Kvankala, allowing the Hoops to bring in a fresh centre-forward towards the end of games.
Whether he starts or comes off the bench, the Austrian attacker looks like a promising addition to the squad after a dream debut, but this could spell bad news for Celtic’s other forward.
Celtic forwards who should never start again
Now that Kvankala and Adam have both come through the ranks and scored their first goals for the Scottish giants, there is one Hoops forward who should never start again this season.
Kelechi Iheanacho joined the club on a free transfer the day after deadline day last summer after the recruiting team failed to sign a striker to cross the line in time for Brenden Rodgers.
Unfortunately, the former Manchester City and Leicester City centre-forward has been suffering from a hamstring problem and has missed 19 matches in the matchday squad through injury in all competitions.
The experienced forward has only played 32 minutes in 2026, 22 minutes against Utrecht and 10 minutes against Falkirk, and was not included in last weekend’s game against Dundee.
Iheanacho has shown flashes of quality, scoring three goals in 10 games in the Premier League and Europa League, but he has not featured regularly enough to provide the team with a consistent source of goals.
In addition to his lack of game opportunities, the Nigeria international has also struggled to efficiently convert the opportunities that have presented him in five Premiership appearances for the club this season.
25/26 Premiership | Iheanacho |
|---|---|
Appearance | 5 |
begins | 3 |
xG | 3.36 |
the goal | 2 |
missed a big opportunity | 3 |
A big opportunity has arisen | 3 |
assist | 0 |
The 29-year-old marksman has underperformed in terms of xG with two goals in five league games, which could be another reason why the Hoops opted to sign two strikers in the January transfer window.
Celtic could have left after signing Kvankala in the hope that Iheanacho would stay healthy and serve as backup to the Czech international, but O’Neill also signed Adam to provide further firepower.
With the duo a force to be reckoned with and already scoring goals, Iheanacho should not start another game for the Hoops between now and his contract expires in the summer.
The experienced Premier League striker was worth the risk on a free transfer last summer, but his form and fitness did not go well for the club and he should have been released at the end of the season.
From now on, Kvankala and Adam can share the workload in the centre-forward position, eliminating the need for Iheanacho to start again.
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