Former Celtic forward Chris Sutton has revealed the qualities that continue to impress him about Kelechi Iheanacho, insisting the Nigerian striker remains capable of influencing matches despite his role as a substitute.

The Nigeria international, who joined Celtic as a free agent  last September, was brought on in the closing eight minutes of Sunday's Old Firm derby at Celtic Park.

Iheanacho, who has produced a series of impressive cameo appearances in recent weeks, replaced Yang Hyun-jun as Celtic held on to secure an important victory over their fierce rivals.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Sutton admitted he has been impressed with Iheanacho's technical qualities and football intelligence despite concerns surrounding the striker's fitness and mobility.

"I find it remarkable. He has trained for a long time," Sutton revealed. "Martin only uses him sparringingly."

Reflecting on Iheanacho's earlier years in the Premier League alongside Jamie Vardy, Sutton noted that the forward's football awareness remains one of his biggest strengths.

"Iheanacho in the season watching him alongside Jamie Vardy when he was at a level of fitness, he was such an intelligent player."

The former Celtic striker further highlighted the attributes that continue to make Iheanacho a valuable option for the Hoops. 

"He is not just a goal scorer, he is a player who has good awareness, vision, holds the ball-up and link up play, and he still has that."

"But then his cameo, the goal he's scored, to have that awareness and only him can score the goal on the pitch.

"At times, he is lazy, he doesn't work hard enough, and he is not mobile. That's the issue."

Iheanacho has enjoyed an impressive run of form from the bench in recent weeks as Celtic continue their push to retain the Scottish Premiership title after an inconsistent start to the campaign.

Adeyemi Adewale