Exactly 26 years to the day I joined Celtic, the gaffer has splashed out on another £6m striker
06:00, 11 Jul 2026
New Celtic signing Camilo Duran(Image: SNS Group)
It’s funny how football comes full circle.
Yesterday marked 26 years since I walked through the doors at Celtic Park as Martin O’Neill’s first signing. And now, all these years later, another £6million striker has checked in to kickstart Martin’s second rebuild.
Camilo Duran arrives with a decent pedigree after what he did for Qarabag and I actually saw him up close when he scored against Newcastle in the Champions League last season. From what I’ve seen, he looks like a promising addition.
He’s quick, makes clever runs and he’s already shown he’s got an eye for goal on the European stage. It’s a big positive that Celtic are finally getting someone through the door.
But let’s not kid ourselves either. Duran has to be the first of many this summer.
Last year’s mistakes are still fresh in everyone’s minds and fans won’t accept the club sleepwalking into another Champions League qualifier undercooked. There was so much unrest after crashing out to Kairat Almaty and nobody wants that to happen again.
Hopefully, by the time that £40m play-off comes around, Duran will have settled alongside some other new faces. It’s important he gets bedded in and develops that understanding with his new teammates.
Way back in 2000, I arrived for the same price tag with something to prove after a poor year at Stamford Bridge. But I’d still won a Premier League title and the Golden Boot before that.
Football has changed since then and Duran is coming from a different market altogether.
The days of Celtic signing established Premier League players like Martin did with me, Alan Thompson and Neil Lennon are long gone. You don’t get the finished article for £6m these days.
You’re buying someone you hope develops into a £20m player. That’s the market Celtic operate in now.
Alan Thompson, Neil Lennon and Chris Sutton(Image: SNS)
There’s always going to be an element of risk but Duran scored five goals in the Champions League last season and Qarabag were no mugs in Europe.
So that gives you optimism, but the attacking position remains fascinating because so much depends on what happens with Daizen Maeda.
Martin called him Larsson-esque towards the end of last season and that’s about as big a compliment as you can give anyone. He was sensational. If Maeda stays, suddenly Celtic are pretty well catered for in that area.
I hope the Japan star doesn’t leave and he’s not the type to throw his toys out of the pram. But if he does move on, he leaves one hell of a void at the top end of the park.
I was brought in as a replacement for Mark Viduka, but Duran and Maeda aren’t the same type of player. Nobody should expect that.
I know Martin wants to bring back Kelechi Iheanacho and without his match-winning cameos from the bench, Celtic wouldn’t have won the league. Fitness was always his biggest issue.
Martin clearly felt he couldn’t trust him to play longer and that’s something that has to improve if he’s going to have a bigger role this season. Callum Osmand is another interesting one.
He had that iconic moment on the final day against Hearts and he’ll never forget that.
But let’s be realistic, he hasn’t played much senior football and young players need patience. He clearly has potential but nobody should expect him to suddenly carry Celtic’s attack.
Martin will want options because Celtic have to fight on multiple fronts. Then there are the futures of players like Johnny Kenny and Shin Yamada.
This pre-season is probably a clean slate for everybody and if somebody comes back fitter, sharper and performs well enough, they’ll get opportunities. Martin was exactly the same when he first arrived over a quarter of a century ago.
There were guys like Stiliyan Petrov and Jackie McNamara – players people thought were surplus to requirements. Both became legends of the club. The biggest thing for me, though, is that Celtic really ramp things up now in the transfer market.
Celtic boss Martin O’Neill(Image: SNS Group)
Time is ticking. Flag Day is only three weeks away and that massive Champions League play-off is just 38 days from now.
Supporters don’t want another summer where the manager is left scrambling for players at the last minute. We’ve seen it all too often.
And neither do the players. Footballers love seeing new signings arrive because it raises standards in training and keeps everyone on their toes.
Martin also deserves serious financial backing.
I know Dermot Desmond, Michael Nicholson and Brian Wilson were in the stands in Dublin on Tuesday night.
I’d be stunned if, when he signed his new contract, Martin didn’t make it crystal clear what he felt this squad needed. I’m sure he would have had a clear plan.
Otherwise, why would he have risked doing another year?
Managers are always strongest when they first agree on a new deal. You’d imagine he would have wanted assurances. I’d be absolutely shocked if he didn’t.
Ultimately, the board need to show they have learned from last year.
Expectations are high. People want to see Celtic competing again in the Champions League.
You think back to them taking Bayern Munich all the way in the knockout stage, and for whatever reason, the club sat on their hands and it all regressed.
Now they’re trying to get back to that level and that’s not going to be easy if they sell their best players without bringing in the quality needed to replace them.
Duran looks like a good player on paper and it’s encouraging to finally see Celtic open the chequebook.
But just like I was, the Colombian is only the first piece of the jigsaw and there’s still so much work to be done.
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