Celtic have been dealt some tough hands over the years. They've missed out on some great new signings and one that must particularly sting is the Ivan Toney near miss.

The Hoops were heavily linked to a move for the striker back in the summer, but talks fell through and he eventually made his move to Brentford, where he is currently flying.

Speaking to Football Insider, Noel Whelan has discussed the failed move and thinks Celtic will be furious that they couldn't reach an agreement for his signature and tipped Toney and Odsonne Edouard to be a "mouthwatering" partnership.

Indeed, the 24-year-old has been in blistering form this season, netting a mammoth 25 goals in 32 appearances in the Championship so far. He leads the league's top goal-scorers by a large margin, with Blackburn's Adam Armstrong behind him on 19 goals, as per BBC Sport.

Edouard is capable of racking up similar numbers to Toney and currently boasts 16 goals in 24 Premiership games this season. Last term, he finished with a whopping 28 goals and 19 assists across all competitions, according to Transfermarkt.

With Celtic's lacklustre 2020/21 season coming to a close, Nick Hammond and co will be looking back at their failed summer business and cursing themselves. Had they brought the clinical Toney to Parkhead, he and Edouard would have been an unstoppable force at the forefront of Celtic's attack. Both Neil Lennon and John Kennedy have been deploying two strikers up top, so it's not a tactic the Hoops haven't seen recently.

Stephen McGowan recently revealed that Toney was in fact "in the building" last summer and was eager to put pen to paper and sign for Celtic from Peterborough. The fact that he slipped out of the net after being so close will have the members of the board, and perhaps the departed Neil Lennon, kicking themselves.

With the attacking prowess of two lethal strikers, the Bhoys could have had a much better shot at retaining their Premiership crown and keeping Rangers away from the top spot.

In other news, Dean Windass makes claim over Odsonne Eduard future under potential new Celtic manager...