Celtic are now preparing to begin their push to sign a Scottish Premiership standout as part of a necessary squad rebuild this summer.
It hasn’t been flawless, but Celtic’s comeback to secure a point against Rangers, followed by a midweek win over Aberdeen, showed exactly why Martin O’Neill was given the role until at least the end of the current season.
The experienced manager saw his side trailing by two goals in the Old Firm derby last weekend, only for his substitutions to trigger a remarkable Celtic recovery that stunned Danny Rohl and Rangers late in the match.
The Bhoys then backed that up with another tight victory over Aberdeen on Wednesday. On this occasion, Benjamin Nygren netted the decisive goal shortly after the hour mark.
O’Neill praised the scorer after he lifted his total to 19 for the season, capping an impressive debut campaign, saying: “He’s doing something that is the most difficult thing in the game – to score goals. And he’s popped up again with what proved to be the winning goal.
“I thought that when we scored the first goal, and it came very, very early on, I thought that’s the time for us to really push forward and try and get the second goal if we can.
“We came off the game a little bit, allowed Aberdeen into it, they got the penalty and scored, and that’s a tough old second half, having to try and create things.
We have to take risks and that’s what we tried to do, but at the same time, try and not concede a goal, and that was always possible. But Nygren comes out with the goal, which was great.”
The Bhoys now sit five points behind leaders Hearts in the Scottish Premiership and, with the title beginning to slip away, it’s evident that they require a major rebuild in the summer.
Celtic ready to launch Chaiwa move
With that in mind, several players have already been linked ahead of the summer window – including Miguel Chaiwa. According to The Herald, Celtic are now preparing to make their approach to sign Chaiwa from Hibernian at the end of the season and bring in an immediate boost to the centre of their midfield.
Praised for his “complete performance” against Celtic by BBC Sport’s Kenny Crawford last month, the Scottish giants should already be well aware of Chaiwa’s ability.
Furthermore, it is increasingly clear that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is beyond his peak years, and securing a long-term successor in midfield should be one of Celtic’s key objectives.
Chaiwa is still only 21 years old and could become that solution after impressing in his first campaign in the Scottish Premiership.