Kelechi Iheanacho Joins Bursaspor After Celtic Contract Talks

Kelechi Iheanacho turned his back on a fresh Celtic contract and pushed for a move to ambitious Turkish side Bursaspor, insisting he told his agent to “do everything possible” to make the transfer happen.

The 29-year-old Nigeria forward had only joined Celtic in September on a one-year deal after leaving Sevilla, following a loan spell with Middlesbrough. His short-term stay in Glasgow always carried an element of uncertainty, but Celtic held an option to extend his contract for a further year.

That deadline came and went. The clause lapsed, yet the Scottish champions still tried to keep him. Manager Martin O’Neill made it clear he wanted Iheanacho to stay and confirmed that the club had put a new offer on the table.

The striker chose a different path.

Last week, Iheanacho signed for Bursaspor, last season’s TFF Second League winners and a club pushing hard for back-to-back promotions and a return to the Turkish Super Lig. The move takes him from the pressure cooker of a title-chasing Celtic side to a team on the rise, desperate to reclaim its place among Turkey’s elite.

In his first interview after sealing the switch, Iheanacho spoke with obvious enthusiasm about the project he is joining, and about the pull of the club’s history.

“To be fair, Bursaspor is a big club in Turkey and I had heard that they had previously won the Turkish Super Lig,” he said, outlining exactly why the challenge appealed to him.

Celtic wanted him to stay. He wanted something else: a leading role in a promotion fight at a club that believes it belongs back at the top.