Celtic now fear competition from West Ham United could derail their bid to sign Martin O’Neill’s impressive 17-goal attacker.
O’Neill: Celtic ‘still fighting’ despite ‘setback’
After winning late on in two of their games, O’Neill admitted Celtic cannot afford to continue to delay games if they want to catch up with Hearts at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
Now, a week later, the experienced manager has been proven right. What looked like resilience and character against Kilmarnock and Livingston turned into weakness against Hibernian as the visiting team dealt the Bhoys another title blow in the closing stages.
The defeat leaves Celtic six points behind Hearts and two points behind old rivals Rangers, both of whom have a point left. The title is currently in Hearts’ hands, but O’Neill is not giving up.
He told reporters: “It’s a setback. We’re not done yet. Domestically it’s tough for us, but we’re still fighting. We played really good football. We were 1-1 up at half-time, but perhaps we should have gone in front.”
“Getting sent off has a big impact. We had the momentum at that stage. We had some chances in the second half, but if we don’t hold back, our opponents will also have chances.”
0 minutes played against Hibs: Celtic’s misfire was even bigger than Balikwisha’s.
The Celtic player, who did not play against Hibernian on Sunday, looks like an even bigger failure than Michel-Ange Balikwisha.
After such an eventful campaign, serious questions will be asked of Celtic’s board at the end of the season. They will have to answer hiring demands and, perhaps even more so, the management search that was marked by Wilfried Nancy’s disastrous tenure.
Whether next season’s manager is O’Neal or another name, the Hoops must back him up with investment this summer, starting with adding an attacking spark.
To that end, players like Tomas Kvankala could join permanently, and he could also be joined by an impressive strike partner in Armando Gonzalez.
Celtic and West Ham compete for Gonzalez
According to reports in Mexico, reported by Sport Witness, Celtic and West Ham are rushing to sign Gonzalez. The Bhoys are in dire need of a new talisman to lead the team next season, and it’s easy to see why the Deportivo Guadalajara striker is on the shortlist.
The same can be said for West Ham. The Hammers solved part of their problem by signing Tati Castellanos in the January transfer window, but with Callum Wilson’s contract coming to an end this summer, other options will no doubt be a no-go.
The big question is who will win the race to sign a forward. Celtic will fear that interest from the Premier League will affect Gonzalez, but there has been no concrete move from either club yet.
With 17 goals in just 24 games this season, it would be no exaggeration to say that the 22-year-old is a pure goalscorer. If you give him a chance, his form in Mexico suggests he will have no trouble finding the back of the goal.
25-year-old international forward publicly supports joining Celtic on permanent contract this summer
The Hoops are in for a tumultuous summer.
After such a disappointing season, signing Gonzalez would be the perfect way for both West Ham and Celtic to start the summer transfer window.
