Celtic fans of my vintage will remember Pierre van Hooijdonk fondly for his goalscoring exploits during the Tommy Burns era.
The way he left the club won’t be looked on fondly but there is no denying that the former Dutch international was a superb striker for Celtic.
His winning goal in the 1995 Scottish Cup Final will always go down in history as one of the most important Celtic goals in recent times.
Scoring 52 goals in 84 appearances for Celtic, van Hooijdonk was a master with both feet, his head and his dead-ball delivery were stunning.
And it is that ability to deliver freekicks that has impressed the former Celtic striker about his own son, Sydney, as Celtic links emerged yesterday.
Here is what van Hooijdonk has said about his son in an interview that was taken when Sydney was a striker for NAC Breda back in 2017.
Van Hooijdonk said [The Sun], “Sydney is doing well, he’s scored a few goals and hopefully he can progress.
“His technique with free-kicks is exactly the same as mine and it’s funny to watch him, as he’s been working on that since he was a young boy.
“There is a long way to go, he’s still young, but he does have talent.
“I always believe it’s better to be really good at one or two things, instead of being okay at everything.
“You need to have something special in your locker to make you stand out – and he’s doing very well just now.”
Sydney van Hooijdonk as a Celtic striker?
Now 23, Sydney van Hooijdonk has been capped twice at u21 level for the Netherlands but has still to break his scoring duck for the Dutch.
However, at club level, his goalscoring record is extremely impressive. In 192 career appearances, he has scored 92 goals and created eight assists.
Season 2017/18 was his most prolific after he found the net 23 times in just 29 appearances or NAC Breda u19’s.
The 23-year-old moved to Serie A side, Bologna, on a free transfer in 2021 but only made five appearances before being loaned out to Herenveen the following January.
He scored 26 times for the Eredivisie side over the duration of his 18-month loan spell and has since returned to Bologna where, this season, he has made six appearances scoring just once. [Transfermarkt]
Does he have the class to be a successful Celtic striker just like his dad? He certainly has the potential but contracted to the Serie A side until 2025, van Hooijdonk won’t be cheap and that is something the Celtic board would need to consider should the club decide to make a move for him in January.
In other news, ‘Best midfielder in Scotland’… Peter Martin says Celtic have a player who’s better than Matt O’Riley