Celtic boss Martin O’Neill has received a major transfer warning following news of interest in West Ham United striker Callum Wilson.
O’Neill, 73, was re-appointed as Celtic’s caretaker manager until the end of the 2025-26 season following the sacking of Wilfried Nancy earlier this month and he has urged the club to back him in the market before the winter window closes on 2 February.
Celtic are currently third in the Scottish Premiership table, behind both Hearts and Rangers, and they therefore face an uphill battle to secure their fifth consecutive league title this season.
The Bhoys hierarchy have identified the centre forward position as a key area in need of reinforcements, with Kelechi Iheanacho featuring just twice since October due to injury and both Johnny Kenny and Shin Yamada struggling in front of goal.
A loan move for former star Kyogo Furuhashi has been ruled out by all parties, while Celtic’s interest in Evan Ferguson and Wessam Abou Ali has seemingly died down over the past few weeks.
Instead, Hibernian star Kieron Bowie and the aforementioned Wilson have emerged as two of the more likely candidates to join O’Neill’s side before Deadline Day, although ex-Celtic striker Simon Donnelly has warned his former team about the potential pitfalls of signing the latter.
Callum Wilson transfer warning
Speaking to Clyde 1 Superscoreboard (via The Daily Record), Donnelly admitted: “I think quality-wise, he’d [Wilson] definitely bring something to the Celtic team. The concern for me is the fitness.
“We’ve looked at [Kelechi] Iheanacho coming in and I think he’s looked like a player when fit. But he’s not been fit anywhere near enough times for Celtic, picking up hamstring injuries.
“That would be my concern for Callum Wilson as well.”
Wilson has scored four goals in 18 games for West Ham since his arrival on a Bosman deal over the summer, however he has been excluded from back-to-back matchday squads and he has been widely tipped to mutually terminate his contract this month.