The transfer saga involving Celtic and the 20-goal striker has taken an unexpected U-turn ahead of the opening of the winter window.
If there is one player that Celtic urgently need to sign this January, it is a reliable goalscorer. The club have been without one since Kyogo Furuhashi left. Yes, Daizen Maeda did have a phenomenal 24/25 campaign, but his form has completely dipped this season. It is safe to say that it was a purple patch, more than anything else.
Right now, Celtic’s starting number 9 is Johnny Kenny. He did score a few goals under Martin O’Neill and has some positive attributes to his game. For the most part, he has been wasteful and the club need someone who will make more of the chances they create.
Callum Osmand had shown a ton of promise before his injury. Kelechi Iheanacho has proven to be injury-prone since his summer arrival and even when he was on the pitch, he managed only one goal from open play in ten appearances for Celtic. Shin Yamada
So, Celtic fans were understandably excited when the club were linked with the Swedish league’s top goalscorer. It made all the sense in the world. But now, cold water has been poured over that speculation.
‘No contact from Celtic’ – Transfer saga takes astonishing U-turn
The player in question is Ibrahim Diabate, who scored 20 goals last season and a league-topping 18 in the Allsvenskan. But as reported by the Daily Record, Swedish sources have played that interest down, and his club, GAIS, have had no contact from Celtic, directly or indirectly.
Of course, this is not confirmation that Celtic won’t be making a move for Diabate. But it does increase the chances that there was nothing behind the speculation.
On paper, Diabate looks like the kind of player that Celtic should be after this winter. He is in form and entering his prime at 26 years of age. He has been on the books at Atletico Madrid and Sevilla in the past. This would not have been a project signing based on potential. But unfortunately, now there are doubts about the Hoops’ level of interest in the player.