{"id":43641,"date":"2026-02-23T11:26:50","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T16:26:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/02\/23\/west-ham-enter-race-for-17-goal-gonzalez-celtic-fear-competition\/"},"modified":"2026-02-23T11:26:50","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T16:26:50","slug":"west-ham-enter-race-for-17-goal-gonzalez-celtic-fear-competition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/02\/23\/west-ham-enter-race-for-17-goal-gonzalez-celtic-fear-competition\/","title":{"rendered":"West Ham enter race for 17-goal Gonzalez, Celtic fear competition"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_74 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/02\/23\/west-ham-enter-race-for-17-goal-gonzalez-celtic-fear-competition\/#ONeill_Celtic_%E2%80%98still_fighting_despite_%E2%80%98setback\" >O&#8217;Neill: Celtic &#8216;still fighting&#8217; despite &#8216;setback&#8217;<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-5' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-5'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-5' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-5'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-5' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/02\/23\/west-ham-enter-race-for-17-goal-gonzalez-celtic-fear-competition\/#0_minutes_played_against_Hibs_Celtics_misfire_was_even_bigger_than_Balikwishas\" >0 minutes played against Hibs: Celtic&#8217;s misfire was even bigger than Balikwisha&#8217;s.<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/02\/23\/west-ham-enter-race-for-17-goal-gonzalez-celtic-fear-competition\/#Celtic_and_West_Ham_compete_for_Gonzalez\" >Celtic and West Ham compete for Gonzalez<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-5' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-5'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-5' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-5'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-5' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/02\/23\/west-ham-enter-race-for-17-goal-gonzalez-celtic-fear-competition\/#25-year-old_international_forward_publicly_supports_joining_Celtic_on_permanent_contract_this_summer\" >25-year-old international forward publicly supports joining Celtic on permanent contract this summer<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Celtic now fear competition from West Ham United could derail their bid to sign Martin O&#8217;Neill&#8217;s impressive 17-goal attacker.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- No AdsNinja v10 Client! --><!-- No AdsNinja v10 Client! --><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"o-39-neill-celtic-quot-still-fighting-quot-despite-quot-setback-quot\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"ONeill_Celtic_%E2%80%98still_fighting_despite_%E2%80%98setback\"><\/span>\n                        <strong>O&#8217;Neill: Celtic &#8216;still fighting&#8217; despite &#8216;setback&#8217;<\/strong><br \/>\n               <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>After winning late on in two of their games, O&#8217;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.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>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&#8217; hands, but O&#8217;Neill is not giving up.<\/p>\n<p>He told reporters:<em> &#8220;It&#8217;s a setback. We&#8217;re not done yet. Domestically it&#8217;s tough for us, but we&#8217;re still fighting. We played really good football. We were 1-1 up at half-time, but perhaps we should have gone in front.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;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&#8217;t hold back, our opponents will also have chances.&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"display-card  article article-card small  no-badge  active-content                      \" data-include-community-rating=\"false\" id=\"celtic-mvuka-is-an-even-bigger-flop-than-balikwisha\" data-nosnippet=\"\">\n<picture><source media=\"(max-width: 480px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.footballfancastimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/balikwisha-celtic-premiership.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=140&amp;h=98&amp;dpr=2\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.footballfancastimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/balikwisha-celtic-premiership.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=140&amp;h=98&amp;dpr=2\"\/>\n        <\/picture>\n<p>                    <span data-field=\"label\" class=\"article-card-label\"><label>related<\/label><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"w-display-card-content regular article-block\">\n<h5 class=\"display-card-title \"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"0_minutes_played_against_Hibs_Celtics_misfire_was_even_bigger_than_Balikwishas\"><\/span>\n<p>\t\t\t0 minutes played against Hibs: Celtic&#8217;s misfire was even bigger than Balikwisha&#8217;s.<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<p class=\"display-card-excerpt\">The Celtic player, who did not play against Hibernian on Sunday, looks like an even bigger failure than Michel-Ange Balikwisha.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>After such an eventful campaign, serious questions will be asked of Celtic&#8217;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&#8217;s disastrous tenure.<\/p>\n<p>Whether next season&#8217;s manager is O&#8217;Neal or another name, the Hoops must back him up with investment this summer, starting with adding an attacking spark.<\/p>\n<p>To that end, players like Tomas Kvankala could join permanently, and he could also be joined by an impressive strike partner in Armando Gonzalez.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- No AdsNinja v10 Client! --><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"celtic-and-west-ham-battling-to-sign-gonzalez\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Celtic_and_West_Ham_compete_for_Gonzalez\"><\/span>\n                        <strong>Celtic and West Ham compete for Gonzalez<\/strong><br \/>\n               <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>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&#8217;s easy to see why the Deportivo Guadalajara striker is on the shortlist.<\/p>\n<p>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&#8217;s contract coming to an end this summer, other options will no doubt be a no-go.<\/p>\n<p>    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.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<div class=\"display-card  article article-card small  no-badge  active-content                      \" data-include-community-rating=\"false\" id=\"celtic-tomas-cvancara-permanent-transfer-update\" data-nosnippet=\"\">\n<picture><source media=\"(max-width: 480px)\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.footballfancastimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/mixcollage-13-dec-2024-08-29-am-8801.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=140&amp;h=98&amp;dpr=2\" srcset=\"https:\/\/static0.footballfancastimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/mixcollage-13-dec-2024-08-29-am-8801.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=140&amp;h=98&amp;dpr=2\"\/><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"440\" height=\"364\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"celtic park stadium\" data-img-url=\"https:\/\/static0.footballfancastimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/mixcollage-13-dec-2024-08-29-am-8801.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=220&amp;h=182&amp;dpr=2\" src=\"https:\/\/static0.footballfancastimages.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/mixcollage-13-dec-2024-08-29-am-8801.jpg?q=49&amp;fit=crop&amp;w=220&amp;h=182&amp;dpr=2\"\/>\n        <\/picture>\n<p>                    <span data-field=\"label\" class=\"article-card-label\"><label>related<\/label><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"w-display-card-content regular article-block\">\n<h5 class=\"display-card-title \"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"25-year-old_international_forward_publicly_supports_joining_Celtic_on_permanent_contract_this_summer\"><\/span>\n<p>\t\t\t25-year-old international forward publicly supports joining Celtic on permanent contract this summer<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<p class=\"display-card-excerpt\">The Hoops are in for a tumultuous summer.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>After such a disappointing season, signing Gonzalez would be the perfect way for both West Ham and Celtic to start the summer transfer window.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Celtic now fear competition from West Ham United could derail their bid to sign Martin O&#8217;Neill&#8217;s impressive 17-goal attacker. O&#8217;Neill: Celtic &#8216;still fighting&#8217; despite &#8216;setback&#8217; After winning late on in two of their games, O&#8217;Neill admitted Celtic cannot afford to continue to delay games if they want to catch up with Hearts at the top [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43642,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[8872,534,3254,5295,330,40,7062,2856,180,2433],"class_list":{"0":"post-43641","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-17goal","9":"tag-celtic","10":"tag-competition","11":"tag-enter","12":"tag-fear","13":"tag-football","14":"tag-gonzalez","15":"tag-ham","16":"tag-race","17":"tag-west"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43641"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43641\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}