Martin O’Neill Reveals Celtic Thought Iheanacho Deal Was Done

Martin O’Neill has revealed that Celtic believed they had reached an agreement with Kelechi Iheanacho before the striker completed a move elsewhere.

Iheanacho has left Celtic following the expiry of his contract, with the club unable to retain a player O’Neill had hoped to have back for pre-season.

Speaking after Celtic’s 1-1 draw with Middlesbrough, the manager admitted he had expected the forward to remain in Glasgow.

“Well there’s always two sides to every particular transfer, there is to every story,” O’Neill said: (TCW).

“He’s gone, I thought that we had a deal with him at the time but seemingly that wasn’t the case and so he’s gone to pastures new, so there we go.”

Celtic originally signed Iheanacho on a one-year deal which included an option for a further season.

That clause was not activated before it expired, leaving the club to negotiate a new agreement with the player.

O’Neill suggested the terms attached to the original option may have been a factor in Celtic deciding not to take it up, although he made clear he was not certain of the full details.

“Well, I think the option ran out, that’s fine, but the option would be to take someone I assume on similar terms as before, so that I think is probably the difference really,” he said.

The Celtic manager remained positive about Iheanacho’s contribution during his time at the club.

The striker was used mainly from the bench but made an impact during the closing stages of the season, scoring important goals as Celtic secured the double.

“I thought he did terrifically well for us as a real impact player coming on,” O’Neill said.

“In my two spells here, he actually started one game for us, which was the game against Dundee United, but he was definitely where I would have thought it would be nice to have had him for pre-season, so that you maybe can garner a lot of fitness for him.”

O’Neill’s comments make clear that Iheanacho remained part of his plans.

The manager wanted the striker involved during the summer programme, where a full pre-season could have helped improve his fitness and prepare him for a larger role.

Instead, the deal failed to materialise and Celtic have been left searching for further attacking reinforcements.

“But he’s chosen to go elsewhere, that’s fine, you’d have to ask him,” O’Neill added.

The situation will continue to raise questions over how Celtic handled the player’s contract.

The club held an option to extend his stay, allowed that clause to expire and then entered fresh talks which O’Neill believed had produced an agreement.

Iheanacho’s departure leaves Celtic without an experienced forward who had already shown he could change games from the bench.

O’Neill is now waiting for further additions, with the manager confirming progress is being made on potential signings but refusing to discuss specific deals until they are completed.