Evan Ferguson is one player Celtic have been linked with for years now, without a move ever materialising. It is believed that the Irishman was close to a move to Parkhead before he ended up joining Brighton & Hove Albion.

Ferguson would make a fantastic start to life in the Premier League with Brighton, and at one point, he was being viewed as the next £100 million for the Seagulls. Unfortunately, things have not exactly gone according to plan since then.

Ferguson has looked a bit lost in the last couple of years now. He scored just one goal for Brighton in the first half of the 24/25 campaign, before being sent on loan to West Ham United to reunite with Graham Potter. That did not do the trick, and he finished the season without a goal for the Hammers.

Last summer, he was once again linked with a move to Celtic but ended up joining AS Roma on loan. And it has proven to be another difficult campaign for Ferguson.

He has scored five goals in 22 games for AS Roma so far. Incidentally, two of those came against Celtic in the UEFA Europa League, a reminder for the Hoops fans of what he is capable of on his day.

There was a lot of speculation about AS Roma cutting short Ferguson's loan deal in the middle of the season. They did not do that. But it is hard to imagine that they would want to sign him permanently in the summer.

On the other hand, speculation about an eventual move to Celtic just won't go away, even though they have led nowhere of substance in the past. This time around, it is one of Ferguson's former teammates bringing up the topic.

According to the Daily Record, Jeff Hendrick said: "Potentially, yeah, he could go to Celtic and score a lot of goals. I think he's got to end up scoring goals wherever he is. But I think he needs to be careful where he picks his next move.

"It's been two years now where he's really not got going, especially after bursting onto the scene. I'd like him not to jump into something.

"Maybe he might jump into Celtic with his heart because, you know, he's Irish and the affiliation is there.

"But I think he needs to think logically about where his next step is and what is the right fit for him, whether it's a manager, a playing style, a club, a country. I think he needs to be careful where he picks."

So, it looks like Hendrick appears to believe that the Irish connection could lead Ferguson to join Celtic in the future. It is also worth mentioning that it is believed that the striker grew up supporting the Hoops as well, which can only help, even though professional footballers rarely make decisions on that basis.

It is very likely that Celtic could find themselves looking to sign another striker next summer. They have the option to buy clauses in the loan deals of both Tomas Cvancara and Junior Adamu. There is also believed to be an option to extend Kelechi Iheanacho's stay by another year.

At the end of the day, for any of those clauses to be triggered, the strikers will have to go on a great run of form. Both Cvancara and Adamu have scored once each for the club since arriving. Iheanacho has three to his name but only one came from open play.

So, do not be surprised if Celtic are on the lookout for another striker or two soon. If that ends up being the case, it is very likely that Ferguson's name will be in the rumour mill again, just like it seems to be in pretty much every transfer window.

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