Celtic Strikers Last 10 Years: A Data-driven View
The Celtic striking lens: goals and impact over a decade
Celtic's striker story over the last 10 years has been defined by three distinct phases: Leigh Griffiths' peak-output years, Moussa Dembélé and Odsonne Édouard's high-ceiling attacking runs, and Kyogo Furuhashi's modern, movement-led pressing era. Those forwards did not just score goals; they shaped how Celtic attacked, how the team pressed, and how the club evolved through domestic dominance and European campaigns.
Decade snapshot
Goal output from Celtic's leading centre-forwards has varied sharply by era, but the consistent pattern is clear: the club has usually needed one elite finisher to anchor title pushes while wider forwards and midfielders added secondary scoring. Recent reporting also shows a more distributed model emerging, with Celtic's 2024-25 and 2025-26 scoring charts featuring multiple contributors rather than a single striker carrying the load.
| Striker | Approx. Celtic spell | Key goal markers | Impact profile |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leigh Griffiths | 2014-2021 | 40 goals in 2016-17; Golden Boot winner | Penalty-box finisher, set-piece threat, high-volume scorer |
| Moussa Dembélé | 2016-2018 | 32 goals in his first season | Power, pressing, elite hold-up play for age |
| Odsonne Édouard | 2017-2021 | 22 league goals in 2020-21; 87 total goals in one fan-sourced ranking | Complete forward, link play, elite shot quality |
| Kyogo Furuhashi | 2021-2025 | 34 goals in 2022-23 | Pressing striker, channel runner, chance converter |
| Daizen Maeda | 2022-present | 16 goals in 2024-25; 14 goals in early 2025-26 stats | Hybrid forward, transition threat, relentless worker |
Top names of the decade
Leigh Griffiths remains the clearest example of a Celtic striker at full output. One recent summary of Celtic's last decade highlights his 2016-17 campaign as a benchmark season, when he scored 40 goals in all competitions and won the Scottish Premiership Golden Boot.
Moussa Dembélé brought a different kind of value: explosive athleticism, back-to-goal strength, and immediate end-product. A Celtic goal-scorers roundup lists him on 51 goals in 94 appearances, which underlines how fast he translated potential into production.
Odsonne Édouard was the most technically complete striker of the cycle for many analysts, combining finishing with combination play and composure in tight spaces. One widely cited goals table places him among Celtic's leading scorers of the 2000s-era sample, and club coverage has pointed to his 2020-21 Golden Boot-winning form as a major individual season.
Kyogo Furuhashi changed the shape of Celtic's attack by making the striker a pressing and movement-first role rather than a pure penalty-box station. A 2025 tactical review notes that his 34-goal 2022-23 season marked a key benchmark in the club's recent striker evolution.
How the role changed
Striker profiles at Celtic have shifted from classic finishers toward more mobile, system-dependent forwards. Griffiths and Dembélé often represented direct goal output, while Kyogo and Maeda fit a structure where pressing triggers, spacing, and rotation matter as much as aerial presence.
Team scoring has also become more shared. In 2024-25 and 2025-26, Celtic's scoring charts showed multiple players contributing meaningfully, including Daizen Maeda, Benjamin Nygren, Kyogo Furuhashi, and others, suggesting the striker is now one part of a broader chance-creation network rather than the only end point.
Why it mattered
Domestic dominance was often built on striker reliability. When Celtic had a forward in rhythm, the team could turn control into margin, which mattered in title races, cup finals, and fixture congestion across league and Europe.
European relevance depended more heavily on striker adaptability. The best Celtic strikers of the decade were those who could score, press, and sustain intensity against better-organized opponents, not just finish chances in domestic matches.
Chronological list
- 2014-15 to 2016-17: Leigh Griffiths becomes the dominant scorer and posts one of the decade's standout Celtic striker seasons.
- 2016-17 to 2017-18: Moussa Dembélé arrives, immediately delivers elite output, and raises the physical ceiling of the attack.
- 2017-18 to 2020-21: Odsonne Édouard develops into Celtic's most balanced modern centre-forward, pairing goals with all-round play.
- 2021-22 onward: Kyogo Furuhashi leads a more fluid, pressing-based attack and helps redefine the role.
- 2022-23 to present: Daizen Maeda and the wider forward group share goals more evenly, reducing dependence on a single 30-goal striker.
Frequently asked
Research notes
Analytical takeaway: the last decade of Celtic strikers is best understood as a move from pure scoring volume toward multi-functional attacking roles, with the club now valuing pressing, movement, and shared output as much as headline goal totals.
- Best for raw output: Griffiths.
- Best for explosive peak ceiling: Dembélé.
- Best all-round modern striker: Édouard.
- Best tactical fit for the pressing era: Kyogo.
Celtic's striker decade shows a club that stayed successful by evolving its No. 9 role rather than freezing it in one model, and that evolution is still visible in the current scoring spread.
Key concerns and solutions for Celtic Strikers Last 10 Years A Data Driven View
Who has been Celtic's best striker in the last 10 years?
By pure combination of goals, tactical fit, and consistency, the strongest cases are Leigh Griffiths, Moussa Dembélé, Odsonne Édouard, and Kyogo Furuhashi, with Kyogo often judged best for system impact and Griffiths for single-season output.
Which Celtic striker scored the most goals in a season?
Among the cited decade references, Leigh Griffiths' 40-goal 2016-17 campaign stands out as the clearest single-season benchmark.
Has Celtic moved away from relying on one striker?
Yes, recent scoring charts show a more distributed attack, with goals spread across multiple forwards and midfielders rather than one centre-forward carrying almost everything.
Which striker best fits modern Celtic?
Kyogo Furuhashi is the cleanest fit for the modern pressing model, while Maeda adds transition speed and defensive work that suits the club's current attacking structure.
