So, Kevin Van Veen, is he good enough for Celtic?
Kevin Van Veen has been rewarded for his splendid form for Motherwell this season by being nominated for the SPFA player of the year award.
The big Dutch striker has been in sensational form for the Steelmen this term scoring a whopping 25 goals in all competitions, only our very own Kyogo has scored more. His goals have been vital in Motherwell’s fight to keep clear of the drop zone.
He has a wonderful touch for a big striker and he can find the net as we witnessed first hand at Celtic Park a few weeks ago when he scored a fine opportunist goal. His goal last weekend at Fir Park against Kilmarnock was even better, it had a Bergkamp look about it, definitely a goal of the season contender.
The Dutchman’s terrific form has naturally seen him linked with a big move, although Celtic haven’t been mentioned yet, but it’s only a matter of time before that materialises. That begs the question, is he good enough for a move to Celtic Park?
If he can score 25 goals for Motherwell, think what he could do with the service he’d receive at Celtic, although the pressure to do it at Celtic would be totally alien to anything he’d experienced before. Better players than Van Veen have failed to handle the expectations at Celtic.
With a year still remaining on his contract Motherwell can still command a fee, although realistically £500,000 would be enough to tempt the fir park hierarchy.
So is he a realistic option for Celtic? Would he get regular game time? At 31 he’s getting on a bit in football terms, and to be brutally honest he’s not going to dislodge Kyogo from the starting XI. We also have Oh who is an important part of Ange’s plans going forward.
Could a season at Celtic as a back-up striker be something that Ange Postecoglou might look at given he is one injury away from having just one striker available in the squad? And with Champions League commitments a third striker for domestic duties could be a sensible option.
With the greatest respect to the Dutchman it may well be that Celtic are looking for players of a better quality than Van Veen, a guy who’s spent the majority of his career in the lower leagues of Dutch and English football.
That’s not to say that they won’t, and the club of course have a great track record of signing prolific strikers from Motherwell throughout the years such as Joe McBride, Dixie Deans, Brian McClair and Andy Walker.
So could Kevin Van Veen be the next striker to swap claret and amber for green and white, and more importantly could he be a success in the Hoops?
JustAnOrdinaryBhoy – follow on Twitter @ordinarybhoy
