Camilo Duran raced out and bought himself a pair of snazzy four-leaf clover earrings the moment he knew he was heading to Celtic this summer. The Colombian has dazzled as much as the jazzy jewellery so far but with some strike company on the way, it looks like the Hoops’ luck in front of goal is about to change.
Last season's blunt attack
Martin O’Neill’s men dragged themselves over the finishing line last season to capture an unlikely Double. They didn’t half do it the hard way though. Newly departed Daizen Maeda hitting form over the run-in, along with a couple of crucial moments from Kelechi Iheanacho got the job done eventually. But it was a slog for most of the season and a lot was down to Celtic’s being blunt as beach balls in the final third.
The Hoops had strikers who didn’t seem to know how to score. The previous campaign under Brendan Rodgers, Maeda, Adam Idah and Kyogo – who was only there half a season – bagged 56 goals between them, with Nicholas Kuhn adding another 20. Last term? Celtic strikers managed just 35 – shared out by SEVEN of them.
Idah didn’t notch before he left, neither did the ill-fated Shin Yamada, loans Tomas Cvancara and Junior Adamu managed just three between them, Johnny Kenny got six while Iheanacho’s nine wasn’t exactly a bumper total for a no.9 and Maeda only managed eight by April until his incredible late burst got him to 17. Top scorer Benjamin Nygren’s 20 from midfield made the difference but adding a cutting edge was O’Neill’s top priority in this summer window.
New arrivals: Hogh and Duran
And it looks like he’s got it. Hoops fans are thrilled Bodo/Glimt’s lethal Champions League hero Kasper Hogh is finally going to arrive in a deal worth more than £11m. The big fella notched five goals against the cream of the continent last season and looks tailor made to run amok in an O’Neill team in Scotland and potentially in Europe. But Duran has already won over the punters with his explosive start to life with Celts. The Colombian made it three goals in three pre-season games which his opener in Saturday’s 2-2 draw with AC Milan at the weekend and his high pressing set up James Forrest for the second.
Hoops fans are in mourning after saying goodbye to modern great Maeda but they might have a couple of new heroes in town. Duran’s smile shines almost as brightly as those earrings and he’s already turning frowns upside down among the fans. He said: “Yes, I bought these earrings when I knew I was signing for Celtic!”
“It's beautiful to feel that love from the fans every time I have the ball, so soon as well. Hopefully I can continue performing and that love grows.” He’s going the right way about it. Maeda was one in a million but Duran seems to have a similar attitude. Hogh will be a proper penalty box predator. He’ll lurk rather than go looking. Duran looks like a man who can fill the Maeda void, harassing the life out of defenders and forcing things to happen.
He said: “I always aim to run and press hard. That's something the fans can expect from me on the pitch. They can also expect dedication and hard work. “It’s always been a part of my game. In Qarabag, it was the same. And hopefully I can continue that here.”
“I enjoy it very much. If I didn't enjoy it, I wouldn't do it as much. It's just good to help the team that way.” Duran is looking to take his hot streak into the new season, with he big kick-off again Dundee just a week away.
He said: “I'm really happy with the team's work. Now we have to prepare in the best way possible for the start of the league.” “I'm really happy to start pre-season in this way, and hopefully with the start of the season, I can continue that form.” “I won't give a number but hopefully I can score many.”
O’Neill has been left sweating all summer over signings but now he has a happy headache with Hogh completing a £17m front line that might have Premiership defences feeling nervous. Duran said: “I don't really know too much about Kasper. Hopefully, if he does sign, he's coming to help the team and we can play together. I'm available to play whatever way the manager wants to play and I'll give it my all.”
Duran is hoping to form a partnership with Hogh and he also reckons he’ll get even better when he learns the lingo. He said: “Of course it helps settling in when I'm playing well. But as time passes, you get more used to it and adjust to it.” “My English is very bad, but I'm going to take lessons, so hopefully it'll be good soon!”
“It's very important for me to learn English to understand my teammates. I'm going to be taking lessons so hopefully I can learn soon.” Duran’s impact hasn’t gone unnoticed by fans or teammates and returning World Cup ace Kieran Tierney – who got his first minutes of pre-season in the Milan workout – has been blown away by the new arrival.
He said: “He’s flying. I can be hard coming in during preseason but it looks like he’s settled in straight away, which is credit to him and the boys.” Tierney was thrilled to get back to work and he’s convinced Celts will be ready for the real stuff next week. He said: “It was good to be back and get minutes in the legs. I thought we played well. We scored good goals from high pressing and defended well together.”
“It was two teams who wanted to win. They are a great team. We’re looking forward to the start. We’ll get a good week training getting ready for the Dundee game.”
