Richard Kone has everything Brendan Rodgers is looking for in a striker, but whether there is any truth in the matter is another question…
Richard Kone of Wycombe Wanderers looks on during the Sky Bet League One match between Wycombe Wanderers FC and Barnsley FC at Adams Park on January 28, 2025 in High Wycombe, England. (Photo by Cameron Howard/Getty Images)
As reported last night on The Celtic Star just this week, Celtic have been linked with Wycombe Wanderers striker Richard Kone, with a figure of £7 million being mentioned.
Brendan spoke the other day about wanting ‘hungry’ players over big names, and Kone certainly fits that bill.
Big, strong, pacy, and more importantly he knows the way to goal, the Ivory Coast under 23 international is a player who would fit perfectly into Brendan’s footballing philosophy.
Kone’s started life in humble beginnings in his native Ivory Coast and caught the eye with his displays representing his nation in the 2019 World Cup, before moving to the UK with Essex senior league side Athletic Newham FC.
His prolific performances soon caught the eye of bigger clubs, and he made the leap to English league one side Wycombe Wanderers last year and has showed his talent at a much higher level scoring 25 goals in 73 appearances with the Adams Park outfit.
21 of those goals arrived last campaign, which ultimately caught the radar of other clubs such as Birmingham, Middlesbrough, and reportedly Celtic. Although the £7 million price tag may just be slightly exaggerated with the player in the last year of his contract.
Matt O’Riley of Celtic poses for a photo with the PlayStation Player Of The Match award after the UEFA Champions League match between Celtic FC and Atletico Madrid at Celtic Park on October 25, 2023. (Photo by Jan Kruger – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
Some supporters may scoff at interest in a player from England’s third tier, but Gary Hooper and Matt O’Riley were brought to the club from the same level, and they didn’t fair that badly did they?
The one could be a clever move by Celtic, hopefully there’s some substance to the rumour doing the rounds.
Just an Ordinary Bhoy
Here’s Kieran Tierney speaking to The Celtic Star and a few other Celtic fan media sites…
Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter…
Thank you to everyone who has already pre-ordered the late David Potter’s last ever Celtic book, Celtic in the Eighties, which will be published on the fifth day of September by Celtic Star Books. The link to pre-order your copy is below…
Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter, out 5 September 2025. Available to pre-order now.
If you find a diamond in the rough, a young players right on the very cusp of exploding on a generational career defining trajectory into world class territory, and you nab him before anybody else does, then that’s the stuff every club, every manager, and every chairman dreams about.
If you can even come close to that scenario, then it’s a player no manager would turn down.
The faith lies in the scouting, and then the coaching to fulfil the talent.
After that, if the potential is realised, then it’s irrelevant from whence the player came from and what price was paid. A truly great player is worth every penny.
My cynical head is saying “if this guy could be that good, then he should be flying bright on big clubs’ radar as one for their future as well” and we’d be in a tough position to fight to sign him.
But hey this is down to the club and the scouts to decide. All the fans want is quality.
Buying big dosent mean ut will work but it will give you a good start transfer fee ain’t the issue its the wages agents are asking Celtic being in SPL cant pay players £40,000 plus wages we have to have all the squad happy and someone getting twice a maybe three times would upset the camadaray in the squad