Celtic’s £7m flop is fast becoming another Awakening

Celtic striker Joel Mvuka was left out of the matchday squad when they beat Falkirk 3-1 in the Scottish Premiership at Parkhead on Saturday.

The Hoops signed the striker on loan from Lorient at the end of the January transfer window to strengthen Martin O’Neill’s options at the back end of the pitch, but he has not made an impact on the pitch since joining.

Mvuka has never made a single Premiership squad for this team since being loaned to the French team and has only played twice in the SFA Cup.

The 23-year-old made his debut in a 2-1 cup win over Dundee before being substituted at half-time when he played 41 minutes off the bench against Rangers in the quarter-finals of the competition.

It seems O’Neill doesn’t rate the Norwegian striker high enough to come in ahead of his other options, but that shouldn’t surprise anyone.

Why Joel Mvuka has never been a success for Celtic

Everyone uses the phrase ‘with the benefit of hindsight’ when discussing a player’s exploits at the club, but hindsight was not necessary with the signing of Mvuka from Lorient.

It didn’t seem like a logical move at the time of the transfer for a number of reasons, mainly because he has struggled to be consistent at the end of the field throughout his career.

The 23-year-old flop has produced three goals and two assists in 52 league games for Lorient, including 30 games in Ligue 2 and 22 games in Ligue 1, showing that he has been ineffective as a goalscorer or creator.

Celtic also already had two right wing players, Yang and Forrest, in the formation and Mvuka did not add anything different to that position, as another right wing player.

Instead of signing a left-footed option to add a different dimension to the squad, the Hoops have signed another with a similar profile, but with an impressive attacking output.

So, it feels like Mwuka had to fail at Parkhead because he wasn’t what the team needed when he arrived, and he performed poorly as predicted.

This Celtic striker who has become the next player of the team Joel Mvuka

The young Norwegian is not the only winter signing to have struggled since moving to Scotland in a bid to add more strength to O’Neill’s ranks.

Tomas Cvancara is fast becoming the next Celtic star after he was left out of the matchday squad for the 3-1 win over Falkirk, after being left out of the squad to face St Mirren in the SFA Cup semi-final.

That means the Czech international has played zero minutes in three of the club’s last seven games, and has played more than 60 minutes in just two of the last ten games in all competitions.

Celtic signed the striker on loan from Borussia Monchengladbach in the January transfer window to lead them, but he has scored just one non-penalty goal in 13 games so far.

Cvancara has scored two goals from 4.20 xG in nine Premiership games, one of those goals coming from the penalty area, and this shows how much he has been wasting his chances.

The Hoops have the option to sign the striker on a permanent deal for £7m at the end of the season, but his poor form for the club suggests they should not pay that fee to bring him back in the summer.

Cvancara has become the new Revival at Parkhead with his exclusion from the team for the last two games, as it becomes clear that O’Neill does not rate him as a reliable striker for the team.

Michel-Ange Balikwisha, Junior Adamu, Cvancara, and Mvuka all signed this season failed to make the matchday squad against Falkirk, and need to learn from this failure before the next window.

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