Celtic have now joined the race to sign a “fantastic” striker in the January transfer window, and he could end up being Wilfried Nancy’s first signing.
Nancy staves off pressure with victory over Aberdeen
After losing his first four games since replacing Martin O’Neill, the pressure was mounting on Nancy heading into the Scottish Premiership fixture against Aberdeen on Sunday, but his side just about managed to get over the line, courtesy of some late heroics.
The Hoops made hard work of it, but ultimately ended up securing a 3-1 victory against the Dons, courtesy of goals from Benjamin Nygren, Kieran Tierney and a stoppage-time James Forrest strike, which kept the pressure on Hearts at the top of the table.
However, with Derek McInnes’ side emerging as 3-1 winners against Rangers, they remain six points clear of Nancy’s side, heading into the Edinburgh derby against Hibernian on Saturday afternoon.
As such, while there is still a long way to go, Celtic are at risk of failing to win the Scottish Premiership title for the first time since 2020-21, and it could make sense to bring in some reinforcements next month.
According to a report from Football Insider, the Hoops are looking to back Nancy in the upcoming window, and they are scouring the market for new attackers, with Union Berlin forward Andrej Ilic now emerging among their priority targets.
Ilic, who could end up being Nancy’s first signing, is capable of playing at centre-forward and on the right-wing, and his performances this season have attracted interest from the Premier League, with Burnley also keen.
However, having not exactly been prolific in the Bundesliga this season, the 24-year-old has lost his starting spot to former Celtic man Oliver Burke, which may be a concern.
Celtic now plotting move to sign Championship striker who Sutton called "unplayable"
They desperately need an attacking addition.
1 ByTom Cunningham "Fantastic" Ilic needs to start scoring more often
The Serbian has scored just one goal in 16 matches in all competitions this season, but he has displayed a keen eye for creating chances, registering eight assists, which is a very encouraging sign.
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Despite a lack of goals, the Union Berlin has done enough to impress manager Stefan Baumgart, who said back in October: “I think he is the most important striker we have in the team, regardless of the fact that he has not scored a goal this season.
“The way he works for the team, the way he presses and plays the press is fantastic. He has to be an example for everyone, because the things he does are not reflected in the statistics.”
Andrej Ilic’s key statistics
Average per 90 (past year)
Assists
0.34 (96th percentile)
Aerials won
4.91 (93rd percentile)
Blocks
0.83 (84th percentile)
With Ilic very impressive in the air, standing at 6’2, the one-time Serbia international could be a fantastic target man for Celtic, but he needs to rediscover his goalscoring form from the 2024-25 season, during which he netted seven times in 16 Bundesliga outings.