Kris Boyd wowed by ‘outstanding’ gem Celtic have unearthed
Kris Boyd has put his Rangers allegiances aside to praise Celtic for a promising piece of summer transfer business after a new star had an impressive debut in their recent win against Kilmarnock.
Celtic needed to return to winning ways in the Scottish Premiership against Kilmarnock on Sunday (14 September), and they did just that as Kelechi Iheanacho netted a late penalty to win it 2-1 on his own debut for the club.
Much of the build-up to the game was dominated by the situation surrounding their manager after Brendan Rodgers was forced to deny any Celtic exit rumours following a leak from within the club plunged his future into uncertainty.
Fans have voiced their displeasure at the club’s recent lack of transfer activity with chants of “sack the board” throughout numerous games while the window was still open, while Celtic supporters were seriously unhappy at a recent statement from their chiefs that aimed to explain the reasoning behind their dealings throughout the window.
A win over Kilmarnock will have eased their on-pitch fears after two games without a win against Rangers and Kairat Almaty, and one debut performance in particular at Rugby Park left Kris Boyd very impressed.
Kris Boyd praises Sebastian Tounekti after strong Celtic debut vs Kilmarnock
Celtic signed Tunisian winger Sebastian Tounekti from Hammarby on deadline day for £5.5million [Daily Record] to bolster their attacking ranks, and he made his Hoops bow against Kilmarnock as he was trusted to start on the right flank.
The 23-year-old was a threat all afternoon for Rodgers’ side as he created the most chances (4) and completed the most dribbles (5) of any player, took five shots and had 14 touches in the hosts penalty area [Fotmob].
While speaking on the Scottish Sun’s Go Ballisti podcast on Monday (15 September), former Gers striker Boyd praised Tounekti’s debut showing, especially in comparison to his fellow winger Michel-Ange Balikwisha’s poor performance.
He said: “You’ve got to praise Celtic. It wasn’t their best afternoon, but they just find a way to win games of football. That’s what champions do, they find a way to get over the line.
“The two wingers, one [Balikwisha] obviously wasn’t great, but it looks as if the Tunisian boy [Tounekti] is another outstanding find for Celtic in that area.”
Celtic must hold on to Brendan Rodgers to get the best out of their new players
Their late win against Kilmarnock and Tounekti’s inspired performance will help Celtic’s continued title aspirations, but it will do little to alleviate the pressure that the board are facing after a lacklustre summer in terms of transfer business.
Football Insider revealed on 2 September that Rodgers was unhappy with the Celtic board after a striker problem emerged at the club and they were left scrambling to secure the signature of free agent Iheanacho.
After the board released a poorly-received statement addressing fans’ concerns around transfers, The Herald reported that Celtic should have had around £100million in the bank for the summer window based off last year’s revenue figures, yet they had only spent around £13m on new players.
Hoops legend Chris Sutton has backed Rodgers to publicly state his intention to stay or leave, and it certainly seems like he implied that he is happy to remain at Parkhead in his recent public comments on the matter despite potential disagreements behind the scenes.
No matter what the thoughts are of each party, some genuine clarity definitely needs to be provided soon, whether that is Rodgers stating his intention to depart at the end of the season or being handed a new contract, as then Celtic can move on and focus on the real task at hand, which is winning the league once again.