Celtic icon Packie Bonner has praised Kelechi Iheanacho for his repeated ability to influence matches off the bench, after the Nigerian forward delivered another decisive goal in Celtic’s 2–1 victory over Hibernian on Sunday.
The former Manchester City academy striker has now recorded seven goals in 20 appearances across all competitions for the Scottish Premiership champions.
Notably, six of those strikes have come after being introduced as a substitute, with key contributions against Kilmarnock, Red Star Belgrade, Dundee FC, St. Mirren on two occasions, and Hibernian, reinforcing his reputation as a late-game difference maker.
With Celtic chasing a winner to keep pace with league leaders Hearts, manager Martin O’Neill turned to his bench, replacing Hyun-jun Yang with Iheanacho with around 20 minutes remaining.
The impact was almost immediate. Within two minutes, the Nigerian forward controlled a delivery with his chest before calmly finishing to put Celtic 2–1 ahead, sealing all three points for the visitors.
Speaking on BBC Sportsound, Bonner reflected on the dramatic finish: “Everybody connected with Celtic breathed a sigh of relief at the end. They made really hard work of it.
“Iheanacho came off the bench and he’s a proven striker. The big problem for him is lasting a full game but what an impact he made. The goal was really, really good.”
Attention is now expected to turn to Iheanacho’s future, with his current contract at Celtic set to expire on June 30, 2026, raising questions over whether the club will look to extend his stay following his consistent impact role performances.
