Celtic Transfers: 5 Strikers Lennon Could Buy For £6 Million Or Less

5. Danny Ings

This is a striker that had a point to prove once Charlie Austin and Jay Rodriguez left Burnley, and boy has he proved it. He has been on fire this season, scoring 20 goals in 28 appearances. Plus, considering he only scored 3 goals in 33 appearances last season, he is in the form of his life. Ings has been one to fear for Championship defenders this season; he has bags of pace and strength, has great positional awareness, and really knows where the goal is at the moment. Perhaps his greatest attribute is his frequent ability to force himself through a barrage of defenders onto the end of a pass to score, he knows where the final ball is going to end up and he damn-well makes sure he gets to it - a trait that Hooper commanded brilliantly during his time with us. At Celtic, we need players who thrive on this kind of physical side to their game, so Ings is a player we should definitely be looking at. What's even better is that he is only 21, so signing this player would fit in with Celtic's current policy of growing players from potential stars to, well, stars. How expensive Ings could prove to be is up for debate. Burnley sold Rodriguez to Southampton for an estimated 6 million, while Charlie Austin cost QPR about 4.5 million. Judging by this, I think Ings should definitely cost under 6 million, but could potentially cost a fee quite close to Lennon (or Lawwell's) limit. The problem, however, is not his transfer fee, it's the wages he'll want. Ings has attracted interest from the Premier League, where even newly promoted clubs can afford wages of £40k and above. Celtic's highest earners earn much lower than this, at an estimated £25-30k. This also throws up another dilemma - would Celtic really want to spend this amount of money on a Championship player who thus far has only had one good season at his current club? It would be a gamble if they were to show interest and bid for him, but there is absolutely no reason why he can't be a fantastic player for us - a direct replacement for Gary Hooper.