It is undeniable that Celtic have lost a lot of attacking talent in 2025.
First, Kyōgo Furuhashi was sold in January, before both Nicolas Kühn and then Adam Idah departed during the summer, recouping around £33.5m in total.
Between them, the trio scored 138 goals for the Hoops, with supporters furious that they were not replaced by adequate quality.
Although, one player the club did sign has made a bright start to life in Glasgow, but would Brendan Rodgers’ attack be even stronger had they kept hold of a forgotten star?
Sebastian Tounekti's start to life at Celtic
Right before the transfer window slammed shut, Sebastian Tounekti joined Celtic for a reported fee of £5m from Hammarby.
Still only 23 years old, the Tunisian international has bounced around various European clubs, plying his trade in Norway, the country of his birth, the Netherlands and then Sweden, but looks immediately at home in Glasgow.
On Sunday, Tounekti opened his Celtic account, combining beautifully with Kelechi Iheanacho before slotting through Lewis Budinauckas’ legs as the Bhoys demolished Partick Thistle 4-0 in the League Cup quarter-finals at Firhill.
A week earlier, he had been named man of the match on debut against Kilmarnock, with George O’Neill of BBC Sport asserting that he has instantaneously become an integral figure, citing Rodgers who believes the winger has “got a bit of everything, he can beat a man, go either way, slip runners in as well, and it’s nice for him to get his goal.”
Of course, supporters are still furious the board did not act in the transfer market sooner, blaming this lack of activity for their ignominious exit from the Champions League play-off round against Kazakh champions Kairat.
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Nevertheless, even if many would argue he came too late, the Celts seem to have landed an exceptional attacker, but there is a forgotten former Celtic winger, sold for just £1.7m, who is actually outscoring Tounekti in 2025.
Forgotten former Celtic forward in fine form
Given Celtic’s position in the global food chain, and their very successful player trading model, plenty of players pass through Parkhead, a fact that was no more so the case than during Ange Postecoglou’s reign.
Sead Hakšabanović epitomises this idea, joining from Rubin Kazan for £2.5m in August 2022, making just 42 appearances in hoops, loaned out to Stoke the following summer, before being sold to Malmö for £1.7m in June 2024.
The Montenegrin international didn’t make much of an impression in Glasgow, scoring just five goals, but he did start three Champions League matches, also departing as a treble winner.
It would be fair to describe Hakšabanović as a journeyman given that, at 26 years old, Malmö is the ninth different club he has represented: Halmstad, West Ham, Málaga, Norrköping, Rubin Kazan, Djurgården and the aforementioned Celtic and Stoke the others.
He only showed glimpses of what he is capable of in Glasgow but, at his peak, journalist Sacha Pisani believed he had “pace to burn”, while Stewart Ross of the Celtic Way praised his ‘quality and versatility’ upon his arrival.
Now though, Hakšabanović has been in the best form of his career at Malmö, scoring seven times in 2025 to date, including a brace to help his side beat Sigma Olomouc in last month’s Europa League play-off.
This means he is outscoring Tounekti in 2025, as the table below documents.
Appearances
33
29
Goals
7
4
Assists
Zero
5
Big chances missed
Zero
4
Big chances created
2
8
Dribble success %
41.2%
48.2%
Of course, these two players, up until recently, were both plying their trade in the Allsvenskan, rated the 19th strongest league in the world by Global Football Rankings, eight places above the Scottish Premiership.
As the table documents, Hakšabanović has scored thrice more than Tounekti in 2025 to date, suggesting he is more of a reliable goal threat, albeit the Tunisian international has created more assists and exponentially more big chances, while also registering a higher dribble success percentage, suggesting he is an all-around more dangerous attacker.
Nevertheless, given how blunt Celtic’s attack has been in general this season, scoring just eight goals in five Premiership matches, failing to net in three and a half hours of play against Kairat, Hakšabanović sure could have been a useful asset, had he been given more of a chance.
