Celtic legend Chris Sutton believes that the Bhoys need a new striker for the upcoming season.
Sutton appeared as a guest on the latest episode of the Record Celtic podcast and he talked about many things involving the Parkhead side. One thing that Sutton was asked about is whether Celtic need a new striker or not and the former Hoops star believes that a new striker signing might be needed.
Celtic have four striker options in the current first-team. This includes Odsonne Edouard, Leigh Griffiths, Patryk Klimala and Vakoun Bayo. Griffiths was recently found to be overweight and he hadn’t travelled with the squad to France for the pre-season friendlies.
This led Sutton to talk about Celtic’s potential chase for a new striker. He said: “If I was Neil [Lennon], I wouldn’t trust Leigh Griffiths to get back to the level of fitness, with the lack of application which he has shown over the period, and he shouldn’t trust him. Why should he trust him with what is at stake this season? Actions speak louder than words.
“He sat on his backside for months while other players have shown the dedication to the club and the training and understood the importance. Leigh hasn’t done that, so he now has to try and get himself into some sort of physical condition which is acceptable.
Do Celtic need a new striker?
Absolutely
No, Griffiths will be back
“But the fact that he wasn’t taken to Loughborough, the fact that he wasn’t taken to France, the fact that the season starts in just over a week, he is not going to be ready. Are you telling me he is going to be ready for the Champions League qualifiers, the importance of them? Celtic can’t afford to drop points early on in the league and to give their rivals a sniff, at this moment in time.
“How can he trust Leigh Griffiths throughout the season, now? How can he trust him to show the dedication that other players have shown? So I actually think at this moment in time, a striker and a goalkeeper [are needed]. When you talk about priority, exactly the same. Neil Lennon needs a striker in, and he needs a striker in fast.”
Because of Griffiths’ situation, Sutton believes that the Scot can’t be trusted by Neil Lennon and he feels that the striker won’t be ready for the start of the season anyway. This leads him to believe that Celtic indeed do need to sign a new striker.
TIF Thoughts…
In 2020, Lennon used the 3-5-2 formation quite a lot of times and Celtic didn’t lose a single league game in the year.
So if the Hoops continue to use that formation in the 2020/21 season, they might need two regular strikers and one back-up for each striker spot. Because of that, they would need four strikers in their side. And if Griffiths doesn’t get his fitness back on track, they will be short of an option in that position.
Since Griffiths was in good form in 2020, Celtic would need someone in his position who can potentially replace him and score goals. In that sense, Sutton is right to point out that Lennon might need to pursue another striker in the summer if Griffiths’ situation doesn’t get sorted out.