Opinion: Celtic Must Move for Ready Made Striker

After another incredible Kevin Nisbet performance in Hibernian’s thrilling 3-2 win away at Fir Park against Motherwell.

Kevin Nisbet’s stand out attributes have always been his movement, finishing and his killer instinct in the box, which are reflected in his 14 goals he netted last season.

His form did cool off a bit around the time he submitted a transfer request to leave Hibs amidst interest from Birmingham City, and it could be said his head was turned a bit like our current striker Odsonne Edouard.

He turned his fortunes around and rediscovered his scoring form just in time to make the Scotland squad for Euro 2020. The striker has shown that he can be a prolific and consistent scorer against Scottish Premiership sides, even netting a few against Celtic as well.

Kevin also showed he can do it against higher level opponents as well as he got on the end of a James Forrest cross to convert from close range against Holland in a Euro 2020 warm-up game. Albeit a friendly match, he showed he could hang at a high level, causing problems for world class centre-backs such as Matthijs De Ligt and Stefan De Vrij.

The Hibs star’s goalscoring prowess was never in doubt, but he showed a different side to his game against the Steelmen as his linkup play, touch and technique were highlighted in a starring performance

With Odsonne Edouard expected to leave this summer, although talks of an exit have worryingly stagnated, why not bring Nisbet in?

He might not be a glamour, big-name star signing but he is someone that can come in and do the job and thrive as part of a Celtic team which is crying out for a goal-scoring threat.

If Edouard leaves, Albian Ajeti, Leigh Griffiths and new bhoy Furuhashi would be our striking options.

Albian Ajeti looked to be in Ange’s good books in pre-season with him being handed the captain’s armband against Charlton and putting in a couple of decent shifts, but he hasn’t started in any of our competitive games and with Ange looking almost reluctant to turn to the bench with all our substitutions coming very late on in games, it is clear there is a lack of trust in the 24 year old Swiss striker.

With Leigh Griffiths, he continues to be a problematic and toxic figure, and the reception he received when subbed on against West Ham is a toxic environment, almost like a pantomime with members of the support trying to drown out the boos with cheers in support of the forward. Griffiths also hasn’t been fully fit in 4 years, and the hopes of him ever returning to the scoring form he was once putting up is getting further away every year.

Furuhashi could be the guy but there is likely going to be a settling in period.

Our current options aren’t good enough, so why not Nisbet? We don’t need a glamour, big money signing, we need someone to come in and consistently score goals and Nisbet can do just that with no adjustment period needed.