Former Celtic midfielder Peter Grant has admitted that the club could have signed Hibernian’s Kieran Bowie rather than Kelechi Iheanacho in the summer transfer window, SportPremi reports.
The Scottish champions lost centre-forward Adam Idah to English side Swansea City in the summer, leaving them short of options in attack.
The Hoops completed the signing of the Super Eagles forward on deadline day, following the termination of his contract at Spanish club Sevilla.
Iheanacho joined on an initial one-year deal, which includes the option of an additional year at the end of the current campaign.
Everything Peter Grant said
Peter Grant who made over 350 appearances for Celtic during his playing days, believes the club should have signed Kieran Bowie from Hibernian.
According to the former Scotland international, the Hibernian forward’s right-footed play offers better balance to the team compared to Iheanacho, who is left-footed.
“I still think there were players here in Scotland that you could have made your team better with. There is no doubt in my mind”, Grant said.
“See on deadline day. I would have made a go for Bowie at Hibs. If you are thinking right, I have lost a striker.
“I am going to pay a few bob for him, because this kid is going to get better. He is strong. He is Scottish, and he can play in the Scottish game. He has proved it”, the ex-Celtic man continued.
“Something like that. You don’t need analytics to tell you this kid could be your goalscorer.”
How does Iheanacho compare to Bowie this season
Kelechi Iheanacho was one of the top performers for Celtic in all competitions this season until his injury against Sturm Graz in the UEFA Europa League few weeks ago.
The Nigerian forward has scored three times and provided one assist from eight appearances in all competitions this season.
The 27-year-old also scored his side’s first goal in the Europa League, netting the opener in their 1-1 draw against Red Star Belgrade in their opening clash.
Kieran Bowie, on the other hand, has found the back of the net four times from 18 appearances in all competitions this season.
The young forward has scored three times in the league, more than half of his tally last season, when he score five times from 13 league appearances.
Iheanacho has proven to be a valuable addition for Celtic so far with his impressive performances and should be back in action in the coming days after recovering from the injury problem that has kept him out of the past few games.
