Boyd would be an ideal signing for Lennon

Celtic would benefit from acquiring the former Rangers hero.

Neil Lennon has admitted he would like to bring Sunderland’s Steven Fletcher back to Scotland. I’d like to suggest an alternative buy, a man who is playing his football closer to home.

In many respects Kris Boyd would be an ideal signing for Celtic. The Hoops want a powerful goalscorer in the traditional mode. And Kris is all of that.

In fact, his scoring record of a goal every other game is better than that of Fletcher, who gets around one every three games.

Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the English Premier League is a harder place to get your goals than our Premiership.

I appreciate, too, that Fletcher is a better all-round footballer than Boyd.

And, perhaps most of all, you don’t need to tell me that a 30-year-old former Rangers hero isn’t likely to be top of Celtic’s shopping list.

The point I am making is just how valuable he is to his club.

In each of the six League games Killie have won this season, Kris has scored at least one goal.

That is a statistic that highlights his contribution as clearly as you could wish. Just add up the points.

In the SPL, as in other leagues, players who can regularly put the ball in the back of the net are sought after more than any other.

I watched Partick Thistle play at Celtic Park during the week, and I can tell you he is precisely what they need.

Their approach play is actually very good, better than a couple of teams above them in the table.

What they lack is a cutting edge.

I am pretty sure Hearts, Ross County and even St Mirren would likewise leap at the chance to get Boyd.

Steven Thompson is a good, experienced striker who knows his trade but he doesn’t get near the kind of returns that Kris does.

What also shouldn’t be missed is just how much Kris has matured as a person. He makes a lot of appearances on the media and he comes across well.

That is a change from his younger days when he often looked uncomfortable.

To be fair, the long-running debate about his perceived lack of work-rate won’t have helped.

It wasn’t the strongest area of his game and it made him an easy target when things went wrong for Rangers, as they did from time to time.

It’s hard to compare where he was then and where he is now.

In the end, it is goals he is judged on, though, and he certainly doesn’t fall short.