Nancy’s own Kyogo: Celtic line up move to sign “powerful” £4m striker
John Hartson summed up the mood around Celtic ahead of the January transfer window by asking the club to “please” sign a new centre-forward.
The former Hoops marksman asked for the Scottish Premiership side to sign a new number nine after the 3-1 win over Aberdeen, as Johnny Kenny struggled yet again.
In the last two matches, the Ireland international has missed a whopping four ‘big chances’ without scoring a goal as the starting striker for Celtic, per Sofascore, failing to score from four shots against Aberdeen.
The 22-year-old forward has now missed nine ‘big chances’ and scored four goals in the league this season, per Sofascore, which shows that he has been far too wasteful with the chances that have come his way.
Celtic eyeing move for new striker
Hartson may get his way next month because the Scottish giants are reportedly looking at a possible move for a new marksman to bolster their squad.
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According to Football Insider, Celtic are lining up a move to sign £4m Union Berlin centre-forward Andrej Ilic when the January transfer window opens for business.
The report claims that the Hoops have joined the race to land the Serbian attacker, who is also in the sights of Premier League side Burnley.
It adds that the Bhoys want to bolster Wilfried Nancy’s attacking options ahead of the second half of the campaign, and Ilic is one of the players who is firmly on their radar.
Football Insider does not reveal how much money it would take to sign him from Union Berlin, though, so it remains to be seen how realistic a deal is.
Why Celtic should sign Andrej Ilic
Celtic should push to get a deal done for the 25-year-old centre-forward because he has the potential to be Nancy’s own Kyogo Furuhashi, as a striker who can provide a reliable presence up front.
The Japan international scored 85 goals in 165 appearances for the Hoops, per Transfermarkt, as he proved himself to be a reliable scorer for both Ange Postecoglou and Brendan Rodgers.
Kenny, as aforementioned, has been an unreliable number nine for Nancy, and Kelechi Iheanacho has only started three games in the league since his move from Sevilla on a free transfer at the start of September.
This shows that the Hoops have not had a reliable number nine in the building since they allowed Kyogo to join Birmingham for £10m in January 2025.
Ilic is a player who has the potential to finally replace Kyogo and be Nancy’s own version of the Japanese forward, despite his struggles in front of goal so far this season.
The Serbian marksman has one goal in 16 matches in all competitions for Union, per Transfermarkt, but he has also registered eight assists in that time, which shows that he is still contributing at the top end of the pitch.
Andrej Ilic’s goalscoring pedigree
Season (Team/s)
Appearances
Goals + assists
25/26 (Union Berlin)
16
1 + 8
24/25 (Lille + Union Berlin)
17
7 + 0
2023 (Valerenga + RFS)
46
28 + 7
2022 (RFS)
47
21 + 7
2020/21 (Javor Matis + RFS)
39
10 + 3
Stats via Transfermarkt
As you can see in the table above, the current campaign is a one-off in comparison to the rest of the past five years, as he has generally been a reliable goal threat wherever he has been. Journalist Josh Bunting even described him as being “so dangerous” during his time at RFS.
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A return of seven goals from 4.49 xG in 11 starts in the Bundesliga for Union Berlin in the second half of the 2024/25 campaign, per Sofascore, shows that he can finish chances at an impressive rate at the top level in Europe and is still a ‘dangerous’ player, having moved on from RFS.
His struggles in front of goal at the start of this season, though, could provide Celtic with an opportunity that they may not have had if he had carried on his impressive form into the current campaign.
Ilic’s overall goal return in his career suggests that he is more likely to get back to scoring goals on a regular basis than he is to continue struggling to finish chances, which is why this may be the perfect time for the Hoops to strike and bring him to Parkhead.
Not just Johnny Kenny: Nancy must finally drop Celtic flop who won 0 duels
Wilfried Nancy must finally drop this Celtic flop who was as bad as Johnny Kenny against Aberdeen.
ByDan Emery
If Celtic can get a deal done for the Serbian, Nancy could have his own Kyogo Furuhashi if he can help the 25-year-old get back to the prolific form that he has shown in the past.