Celtic head coach Brendan Rodgers is unlikely to be satisfied with the way that the Scottish Premiership champions have started the 2025/26 campaign.
The Hoops are currently second in the Premiership table, after seven matches, as they sit two points behind Hearts ahead of their return to action after the international break.
Celtic also failed to qualify for the Champions League, losing to Kairat after two legs and a penalty shootout, and have picked up just one point from their first two outings in the league phase of the Europa League.
The Scottish giants did get back to winning ways last time out in the Premiership, though, as Daizen Maeda’s stoppage-time winner at Parkhead secured all three points against Motherwell.
Scoring goals has not come easy to Celtic throughout the 2025/26 campaign, though, as they have failed to score in five matches in all competitions this season.
This shows that the Hoops have been too blunt at the top end of the pitch at times, and there are several reasons as to why that has been the case.
Why Celtic have struggled for goals this season
Seven matches into the Premiership season, summer signing Benjamin Nygren is the only Celtic player who has scored more than two league goals for the club, with four strikes from a central midfield role, per WhoScored.
In the 2024/25 campaign, seven players hit double digits for goals in all competitions for the Scottish giants, and three players scored 20 goals or more for the club.
Daizen Maeda
51
33
Nicolas Kuhn
51
21
Adam Idah
53
20
Kyogo Furuhashi
32
12
Reo Hatate
55
11
Callum McGregor
54
10
Arne Engels
52
10
As you can see in the table above, three of Celtic’s top four goalscorers from last season are no longer at Parkhead, as Kyogo Furuhashi left in January, before Nicolas Kuhn and Adam Idah moved on in the summer transfer window.
Kelechi Iheanacho has scored three goals in six matches, including two penalties, since he came in to replace Idah, and appears to be on the right path to become a consistent scorer for the Hoops.
Sebastian Tounekti and Michel-Ange Balikwisha have been brought in out wide to negate the loss of Kuhn, but they have only combined for one goal in all competitions thus far, per Transfermarkt.
On top of losing Kuhn, Idah, and Kyogo, some of Celtic’s reliable goalscorers from last season have been unable to kick on and shine again in front of goal in the current campaign.
Reo Hatate, for example, has only scored one goal in ten appearances in all competitions this term. That is a disappointing return for a star who delivered 11 goals and nine assists in 55 appearances in all competitions last season, per Transfermarkt.
Rodgers knows that the Japan international is capable of providing far more quality at the top end of the pitch than he has shown in the last two months or so.
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Whilst Hatate’s regression in form in front of goal is a concern for the Hoops manager at the moment, there is another player whose fall-off is even more concerning for Celtic.
Belgium international Arne Engels has been even worse than the Japanese central midfielder, after an impressive debut season with the Scottish giants.
Why Celtic should be worried by Arne Engels' form
Celtic should be worried by the central midfielder’s drop-off in form because he was an £11m club-record signing from Augsburg in the summer of 2024.
The Hoops invested a lot of money in the young talent, more than any other player in the history of the club, and they would have been hoping for quality performances on the pitch and a soaring market value that would lead to a future profit.
After his first season at Parkhead, Engels could easily have been described as a success. He ended his first year with the club with a return of ten goals and 13 assists in 51 appearances in all competitions, per Transfermarkt.
23 goal contributions from a central midfield position earned him the Young Player of the Year award, which shows how highly rated he was within the club. He was even described as “fantastic” by captain Callum McGregor.
Former Celtic star and pundit Chris Sutton even said that he was “getting excited” over the Belgian star’s performances in the middle of the park for the Scottish giants.
Unfortunately, though, Engels has struggled at the start of the 2025/26 campaign and currently finds himself out of the side, behind McGregor, Hatate, and Nygren in the pecking order to start in central midfield.
Appearances
34
6
Shots on target per game
0.6
0
Goals
9
0
Big chances created
11
0
Key passes per game
1.7
0.7
Assists
6
0
Duel success rate
49%
27%
As you can see in the table above, the Belgian midfielder’s form has fallen off a cliff this season, with his current displays in the Premiership lacking in quality offensively and physically.
Hatate, at least, has won 58% of his duels and scored a goal in the win over Aberdeen earlier this season, starting all five of his appearances, per Sofascore, which shows that he has offered more to the team than Engels has.
Celtic should be worried by his drop-off in form because it is affecting his market value. Transfermarkt valued the midfielder at £10.4m in June, but currently value him at just £8.7m after his disappointing start to the campaign.
This shows that the club’s big asset and record signing is depreciating in value, which should be concerning given the amount of money they spent to sign him last year.
Therefore, Rodgers and his coaching staff should be working hard to help the Belgian star to get back to his best at Parkhead, because an £11m signing wasting away on the bench is far from ideal from a footballing or a financial perspective.