Celtic can bench Cvancara & Adamu by unleashing £14m star in different role

It wasn’t precisely fairly, however Celtic received the job carried out on Wednesday at Aberdeen, transferring again into second and simply 5 factors behind the Premiership leaders.

There stays that nagging feeling that had the Hoops averted Wilfried Nancy’s catastrophe stint, which yielded two wins and 4 defeats from six league video games, they might very a lot be main from the entrance.

Alas, Martin O’Neill is having to make up for misplaced time, doing so with an underwhelming, bloated squad at that, with the journey to Pittodrie proving one other disappointing day for the 74-year-old’s attacking choices.

Not because the Scottish Cup conflict with Dundee has a recognised striker scored for the membership, with doubts firmly rising relating to each Tomas Cvancara and Junior Adamu.

Maybe the pair merely wanted time to regulate, though even former mortgage star, Adam Idah, caught hearth much more swiftly.

How Adamu & Cvancara examine to Idah’s mortgage spell

On Sunday afternoon, O’Neill hooked the aforementioned Adamu on the break, whereas Cvancara did not even make it off the bench in that derby draw, having seen Daizen Maeda slot in forward of him because the makeshift striker.

This time round, it was the Czech striker who did get the nod, whereas Adamu watched on from the sidelines, with the closing levels once more seeing the Hoops resort to deploying Maeda by means of the center.

On what was his ninth look since signing from Borussia Monchengladbach on mortgage, Cvancara has netted simply as soon as to date, his solely purpose coming within the 2-0 win over Falkirk final month.

As for Adamu, regardless of brilliant moments equivalent to his help away in Stuttgart, the Austrian hasn’t received going both, failing to attain once more since his last-gasp heroics on debut within the cup.

The 24-year-old’s document stands at only one in 5 Celtic video games, with neither man getting near the affect that Idah made again in 2024, having scored a brace on his second league look in opposition to Hibernian, after signing on mortgage from Norwich Metropolis.

The Irishman’s first 5 league video games noticed him rack up 5 targets, whereas he ended that six-month stint with 9 in 19 video games, together with that winner at Hampden.

There’s a lot extra soccer forward for Cvancara or Adamu to succeed in that tally, but the early indicators have not been too promising, therefore why O’Neill might have to decide on a everlasting various.

£14m-rated Celtic star might now be unleashed in new function

The lack of Kyogo Furuhashi, and to a lesser diploma that of Idah, has been adopted by one thing of a catastrophe season within the striker division at Parkhead, with Johnny Kenny – now out on mortgage at Bolton Wanderers – nonetheless the main centre-forward with six targets in 2025/26.

Shin Yamada has additionally been despatched packing, Callum Osmand stays on the sidelines, whereas Kelechi Iheanacho cannot be relied upon, therefore why Adamu and Cvancara had been introduced in in January.

For O’Neill to have returned to Maeda so swiftly is telling of what he thinks of these new faces, albeit with the Japanese speedster not precisely thriving himself, together with his wayward second-half strike on Wednesday night time the mark of a person who has scored simply as soon as since O’Neill returned to the dugout.

With that in thoughts, it could be price trialling main goalscorer, Benjamin Nygren, as an unorthodox choice by means of the center as a substitute, with the versatile Swede having beforehand lined up in that function throughout his senior profession, as effectively on the precise wing.

At current, it is honest to say that the 19-goal star is flourishing as a box-crashing choice in a sophisticated midfield function, once more popping up with the very important purpose in opposition to the Dons, nearly beating the offside lure.

There could also be a way why change what is not damaged, whereas Nygren’s lack of mobility may very well be a problem in behind a defence, though at 6 foot 2, he has the construct to be a goal man or point of interest if required.

Certainly, nudging the 24-year-old right into a extra superior function would then permit the energetic Luke McCowan to fit in behind him as that artistic hyperlink between the midfield and ahead line, with the Scotsman netting away in Germany final week, whereas coming near scoring off the bench throughout an impactful cameo at Ibrox.

In 41 profession outings beforehand as a centre-forward, as per Transfermarkt, Nygren has scored 17 instances, making certain it would not precisely be throwing him within the deep finish, if O’Neill had been to make the change.

The previous Nordsjaelland man – who’s valued at €16m (£14m), as per CIES Soccer Observatory – has been a revelation this season, having carried the goalscoring burden largely on his personal, not least in 2026.

Getting him even nearer to purpose then may very well be a clever transfer over the approaching weeks and months, with Celtic’s present striker picks simply not fairly slicing it.