Kelechi Iheanacho breaks silence on Celtic exit as he reveals 'do everything possible' message

Former Celtic striker Kelechi Iheanacho has broken his silence on his exit from the club this summer after signing for Turkish outfit Bursaspor earlier this week.

Iheanacho, 29, played a key role in Celtic's dramatic Scottish Premiership win last season after signing on a one-year deal from Sevilla, scoring a series of vital late goals as the club overcame the challenge of Hearts on the final day of the campaign.

At the end of the campaign, the club held an option to extend his deal by a further year, but were unable to get a deal over the line, with manager Martin O’Neill saying last weekend: “There are two sides to every particular transfer as there is to every story. I thought we had a deal with him at the time, but seemingly that wasn't the case and so he's gone to pastures new.

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Iheanacho claimed he did "everything possible" in order to move to Turkish side Bursapor this summer. | Getty Images

“If he’s gone to another club that’s his decision. The option ran out [to trigger a new deal]. But the option would be to take someone on similar terms to before so that’s where the difference was. Kelechi did terrifically well for us as an impact player coming on. He started one game in my two spells against Dundee United but it would have been nice to have him for pre-season. He’s chosen to go elsewhere.”

Reports had claimed that Iheanacho had decided to turn down Celtic’s offer after being presented with a deal with around £47,000 a week by the Turkish second tier outfit, however, this was rubbished by Bursaspor president Enes Celik, who confirmed the Nigerian international would be earning £23,000 per week, adding that he had chosen to move to the Centennial Ataturk Stadium for "the project “ and not money.

After being officially unveiled as a Bursapor player, Iheanacho has now broken his own silence on the move, saying: “When I heard about their project, that they wanted to climb up to the Super Lig and also play in Europe, I said that this is a big project and it's very good for me to come and be involved and help the team.

“To be fair, Bursaspor is a big club in Turkiye and I had heard that they had previously won the Turkish Super Lig. So I asked my agent to make sure he does everything possible to make sure I come to Bursaspor. My target is for us to go to the Super Lig. It's the same green and white [as Celtic], to be fair. I don't know if it's deja vu, like they say in French. It's the same shirt, but Celtic is a bit lighter green, Bursaspor is dark green. It's a little bit different, but it's all similar. It's all good."

Celtic have signed just one player this summer, with Qarabag striker Camilo Duran arriving for a reported fee of £6million last week, but the 74-year-old boss said there had been “progress” in his search for additions. The club have been credited with an interest in Bodo/Glimt striker Kasper Hogh, who was first linked in January, while they are also understood to be closing in on a move for Paderborn midfielder Mika Baur.