Celtic are coasting through their games after the international break, and they have opened up a seven-point lead over Rangers at the top of the table. The Hoops were expected to be a bit more active in the January transfer window given the number of players that departed from the club. But Celtic only managed to bring in Patryk Klimala and Ismaila Soro.
It was always clear that Celtic needed to bring in a striker. However, they went for an upcoming player in Klimala who would undoubtedly take some time to settle in at Parkhead. Chris Sutton meanwhile recently indicated that Celtic or even Rangers could have gone after Liam Boyce who joined Hearts from Burton Albion.
Sutton suggests Celtic could have signed Boyce
Sutton said on BT Sport 1 (11:34 am, February 2, 2020): “I like the signing of Boyce by Hearts. And do you know what? I am a little bit surprised that Celtic or Rangers didn’t go for him, because I think that he is a proven goalscorer, and he would have been a strong back-up.”
Why could Boyce have been a decent option for Celtic?
Boyce had a spell in Scottish football when he was with Ross County from 2014-2017. The striker bagged 55 goals and came up with 20 assists in 115 appearances for them. Boyce’s performance in the 2016-17 campaign was quite eye-catching as he bagged 23 goals in the Premiership.
Boyce’s impressive stint in Scotland earned him a move to Burton Albion and the Northern Ireland forward managed 31 goals and 13 assists in 94 appearances for them.
It is fair to say that the forward is a proven goalscorer and he has already hit the ground running for Hearts by scoring two and assisting two in two league games. To be fair now in hindsight, Celtic wouldn’t be minding that Boyce moved to Hearts as he dealt a body blow to Rangers by scoring and assisting a goal in their 2-1 win over Gerrard’s men which handed the Hoops a significant advantage in the title race.
Nevertheless, Boyce would have been a more established option for Celtic, and one could have expected him to hit the ground running straight away. It remains to be seen how Klimala would go about his business. Celtic have already got another ‘project player’ in Vakoun Issouf Bayo who has failed to make much impact since his arrival. Hopefully, Klimala would be able to produce the goods for the Bhoys when called upon.
