The French coach understands the reigning champions are crying out for reinforcements, with a proven striker top of the shopping list.
Celtic have managed only 29 goals from 17 Premiership matches and have failed to score in six games across all competitions during a campaign that has struggled to spark into life both domestically and in Europe.
They now trail league leaders Hearts by six points after losing both meetings with the Edinburgh side this season — a 3-1 defeat at Tynecastle followed by a 2-1 loss in Glasgow, which marked Wilfried Nancy’s first game in charge.
That gap has been widened by significant attacking departures. Kyogo Furuhashi was sold to Rennes for £10 million in January, and despite netting 85 goals for the club, the Japanese forward has never been properly replaced, as previously highlighted by CQN. Further attacking quality was lost with Nicolas Kuhn and Adam Idah both moving on, bringing in a combined £23.7 million from Como and Swansea City.
Johnny Kenny has struggled to shoulder the responsibility up front, scoring just five times in 16 appearances. The young Irish striker squandered several first-half chances in the midweek 2-1 defeat to Dundee United and then cut a frustrated figure in Sunday’s late 3-1 victory over Aberdeen.
Shin Yamada has appeared short of match sharpness in his limited outings, while late UEFA-window signing Kelechi Iheanacho and ex-Fulham forward Callum Osmand have both been sidelined with hamstring injuries. That has left Daizen Maeda carrying the attacking burden, though it is clear the Japanese winger cannot do it alone.
Looking ahead to Saturday’s Premiership trip to Livingston, Nancy acknowledged that strengthening the forward line is a key focus. He said:
“We’ll see what we’re going to do with that.
“We’ll work right up until the final day of the window.
“Sometimes we want to do things, but there are factors beyond our control — we’re not the only club involved.
“There’s always a desire to bring players in during a window, and that won’t change. But it’s not about adding players just for the sake of it.
“We need to look at quality, yes, but also personality — because you need players with the right mentality to play for this club.”
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