Lubo Moravcik Reveals the Player He Wanted Celtic to Sign in the Summer

Celtic hero Lubo Moravcik has revealed he wanted to see the club move for Slovakian forward David Strelec during the summer transfer window.

Strelec was linked with the Hoops earlier in the year, with his father openly claiming Celtic had shown interest in the striker. The speculation resurfaced after the 23-year-old impressed for Slovakia on international duty, but no deal ever materialised.

Speaking to the Sunday Post, Moravcik admitted he thought Strelec would have been an excellent fit at Celtic Park.

“I wanted to see David in a Celtic jersey,” he said. “I thought he would have been an excellent signing and that was my honest opinion. He was brilliant for Slovakia last week and has the ability and mentality to do very well at a very high level. But it is not to be for David and Celtic and we must move on.”

Despite his father’s comments, Celtic’s interest in Strelec was played down throughout the summer. Journalist Mark Hendry reported that, while the noise was being driven by the player’s camp, no conversations had been initiated by Celtic over a potential move.

“The latest noise comes from David Strelec’s camp. More specifically, from his dad,” Hendry wrote on CeltsAreHere’s Substack. “Sources confirmed to CeltsAreHere earlier this week — and again the week before — that Celtic had not initiated conversations over the Slovakian striker.

“His father used Celtic’s name to keep his son in the conversation for a move. We’re only surprised he didn’t say Celtic and Rangers, which is the classic lazy trick of generic transfer reporting.”

Celtic ultimately ended the window without bringing in a proven centre-forward, leaving many supporters frustrated after Kyogo’s January exit and Adam Idah’s return to the Championship. Instead, Kelechi Iheanacho arrived late on a free transfer, a move widely seen as a gamble given his patchy form in recent years.

If Celtic had signed someone like Strelec, the narrative coming out of the window would be a lot different. However, instead, fans are unhappy and disgruntled, demanding answers from the club’s leadership.