John Hartson believes Kelechi Iheanacho has become a forward Premiership defences fear, and he is backing the 29-year-old Nigerian striker to trouble Rangers in Sunday’s derby at Ibrox.
The former Celtic striker said Iheanacho has been massive for the team after making the winner at Hibs last weekend, adding to a similar late strike at Dundee and two goals in the Scottish Cup semi-final win over St Mirren. That burst has taken Iheanacho to five goals in his last five games, a run that has changed the tone around a player who had been used mainly as an impact substitute in recent months.
Hartson said the latest finish underlined why Celtic brought Iheanacho in when many thought he was finished. He said that whenever Iheanacho comes on now, everybody thinks he is going to score, and argued that his best role is to arrive with half an hour to go and attack tired defenders. He said that is the position where Iheanacho can be the person the other team’s back line fears most.
The goals have all come from bench appearances, and that matters because it speaks to the same question that has followed Iheanacho for much of his career: whether he has the fitness to start matches and sustain 90 minutes at the level Celtic need. Hartson said he has not got himself into that kind of condition, and pointed to the way injuries and changes in managers and players at different clubs have interrupted his progress.
That tension sits at the heart of Celtic’s decision on Sunday. Iheanacho is not being asked to carry the full weight of a match from the first whistle. He is being asked to change it when the game opens up, and Hartson thinks that is exactly what he does best. He said Iheanacho is already a hero, but if he keeps scoring he can become an even bigger one.
For Celtic, that makes the derby more than another test of form. It is a chance for a player whose recent goals have come in bursts from the bench to decide a match that can shape the conversation around the title race and the season’s momentum. For Rangers, it is a warning that the danger may arrive late, when Iheanacho steps out of the dugout and into the space defenders least want to see him.
