Former Nigerian star is back in the UK
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Reading Time: 2min | Wed. 03.09.25. | 10:43
He had his glory years in England, but now it's time for Scotland
Former Manchester City talent and Nigerian striker Kelechi Iheanacho is back to the United Kingdom. He is not back to the English Premier League thou, but just as Victor Wanyama, he is coming to Scottland, to work with the familiar coach. Former Leicester striker signed with Celtic and will work with his former boss Brendan Rodgers. The Scottish champions have been searching for a centre-forward and have been in a serious race against time as the deadline for registering players for European competitions has passed, but they have succeeded. Inehacho terminated his contract with Sevilla two days ago, and reached an agreement with the Celtic Park club, much to the delight of Rodgers.
✍️ 🇳🇬 Celtic Football Club is delighted to announce the signing of Kelechi Iheanacho on a one-year deal, subject to international clearance, with the club having the option of a further year.#WelcomeKelechi | #CelticFC🍀
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) September 2, 2025
The Celtic manager is confident that the fans will be delighted with the new signing, who has signed a one-year deal with the new club, with the option of a further year. He probably hopes to revive the career of the 28-year old Nigerian, whose stats in Spain are less than impressive - only 11 appearances and three goals before he was loaned to Middlesbrough, where he managed only one goal in 15 appearances.
"I know Kelechi very well and what he can bring to the team. He is a hugely talented player, with great skills, athleticism and work ethic. I am sure he will enjoy Celtic and our fans will love what he brings," said Rodgers.
The transfer was the culmination of intense negotiations, given that Celtic's leaders were under immense pressure to bring in a striker before the deadline. After failing to sign Patrick Bamford and Emmanuel Denis, and failing to sign Kasper Dolberg and David Fofana, Celtic were forced to turn to the free transfer market as the transfer window closed yesterday. After a series of failed negotiations, Celtic managed to secure Iheanacho, the news being announced just minutes after the Europa League deadline. Celtic spent just over 15 million euros on signings in the recently closed transfer window, mostly with marketable potential, with the most expensive signing being Hammarby left-back Sebastian Tunqueti – 6.4 million. The sale brought in over 23 million, most notably for Nicolas Kuhn, who moved to Como for 19 million euros.
