Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers suffered a huge disappointment on transfer deadline day after failing in their late pursuit of Nigeria international Kelechi Iheanacho, Soccernet.football reports.
Rodgers’ Celtic were left light in terms of striking options after Japanese striker Kyogo Furuhashi departed Celtic Park for French Ligue 1 side Rennes. The former Liverpool and Leicester City boss was desperate to get in some reinforcements, with Iheanacho who played under him at the King Power Stadium, one of his most preferred options.
With the 28-year-old available on the market following a torrid stint at Sevilla, Celtic explored the possibility of bringing him to Glasgow. However, a failure to reach an agreement on terms for a loan deal saw negotiations fall through and denied Rodgers his much desired reunion with the Super Eagles striker.
Iheanacho instead completed a loan move to Michael Carrick-led EFL Championship side Middlesbrough for the remainder of the season. Boro are currently in the mix for potential Premier League promotion and Iheanacho, who helped Leicester City secure promotion last season, is certainly a shrewd addition for them.
A club statement announcing his arrival read: “Nigerian international Kelechi Iheanacho has joined the club on loan until the end of the season. The former Manchester City and Leicester City marksman joins from La Liga side Sevilla. The 28-year-old brings a wealth of experience, having played at the highest level.
“In over 300 career appearances he has scored 85 goals and on the international stage he has netted 15 goals in 57 games. He started out at Man City as an 18-year-old where he was a League Cup winner before joining Leicester in 2017.
“The forward was a promotion winner with Leicester last season before joining Sevilla during the summer. He has three goals from 11 appearances in Spain.”