Now that Celtic have officially confirmed that Martin O’Neill is continuing in his role as manager for the 2026/27 campaign, attention turns to the summer transfer window.
The Northern Irish head coach needs to add a new player to his squad before next season, as Junior Adamu and Tomas Cvancara will both return to the Bundesliga after their loan spells.
Kelechi Iheanacho’s contract is also due to expire and it remains to be seen whether or not the club will exercise the option to extend his contract for another year.
The Hoops are already being linked with signing a new striker from elsewhere, as they are reportedly set to accelerate their efforts to sign Aarau centre-forward Elias Filet on a permanent deal.
He scored 20 goals in the Swiss second division in the 2025/26 campaign and could arrive at Parkhead to provide O’Neill with consistent goals.
Celtic are in talks to sign the Serie A midfielder
The Scottish Premiership champions are still looking for a replacement for Kyogo Furuhashi who scored 85 goals in 165 games for the club, despite being sold to Rennes 18 months ago.
Now, the club are reportedly looking at another way for Filet to arrive at Parkhead this summer as O’Neill’s version of Kyogo next season.
According to Tutto Mercato Web, Celtic are interested in a deal to sign Hellas Verona midfielder Kieron Bowie in the summer transfer window to bolster their options at the other end of the pitch.
The report claims that the Hoops have already made contact with the Italian club to hold talks over what the striker’s deal will look like in the off-season, but are yet to make a formal bid for his services.
He also added that Hellas Verona may decide to invest in some of their famous players in the summer window because they have been relegated to Serie B and may have to raise money.
Last month, it was reported that £6m would be enough for Celtic to see a bid accepted for the striker, five months after he left Hibernian in the January transfer window.
How Kieron Bowie could be Celtic’s new Kyogo Furuhashi
The Scottish giants should now submit a bid for the Scotland international in the coming weeks because Bowie has the potential to become O’Neill’s version of Kyogo as a consistent goal threat at Parkhead.
Filet’s numbers in the second division are promising, as he has scored 20 goals, but it is difficult to predict how he will reach the top level, as he is currently playing in the second division outside of the major European leagues.
Bowie, who was described as “the perfect striker on his own” by writer Kai Watson, has already established himself in the Premiership during his time with Hibernian, and showed quality moments in one of Europe’s biggest leagues in Serie A in the second half of this season.
A return of four goals in 14 Serie A games against a relegated side is far from a bad return, and shows that he can score against top defenders.
Two of his four goals in Italy’s top flight came against European giants Inter, who won the league title, and Juventus, which speaks volumes for his goalscoring ability.
On top of his form in Italy, Bowie also scored eight goals at 5.69 xG in the Premiership during the first half of the season for Hibernian, which earned him a move to Serie A.
Meanwhile, Daizen Maeda scored 14 goals from 15.47 xG and missed 23 ‘big chances’ in the league for O’Neill’s side, showing the volume of quality chances Celtic create with their number nine.
Now, imagine a player with the proven quality to finish off Bowie in a Celtic team that regularly creates ‘big chances’ for O’Neill next season.
The Scottish striker seems to have the quality needed to make the most of this skill, which is why he could be the club’s new Kyogo as a consistent goalscorer and a potential number 9 that has been missing since the Japanese player was sold.
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