European exit opens debate over Celtic's striking dilemma

Hooper, during his three years in Scotland, was Celtic's frontline striker, the man upon whom they could rely on to regularly convert the chances that came his way. Who is that figure now? Georgios Samaras wears the No.9 on his back, and operated in the centre forward role against AC Milan last night but has tended to be more often deployed wide on the left, from where he can make meandering runs into the box.

On the bench sat Anthony Stokes, Teemu Pukki and Amido Balde, three players considered strikers in the more traditional mould but none entrusted with the responsibility of delivering the goals Celtic badly needed in what was their biggest game of the season. Even when Celtic went one, two, then three goals behind, there was no immediate rush to get any of them on to try to rescue the situation.

That was almost a statement in itself. Balde and Pukki have both struggled since arriving in the summer, their lack of goals further proof that two strikers costing £2m and £3m respectively does not equal one who was sold for £5m. Hooper's departure to Norwich City has left a void in the Celtic attack and none of the afore-mentioned candidates have looked like filling it by scoring the amount of goals the Englishman plundered in Scotland.

Balde has just two goals to his name so far and has played barely a couple of minutes in the Champions League. At 22 years-old, he could yet flourish but, at the moment, he seems a raw prospect rather than the finished article. Pukki, a year older, has also netted just twice since moving to Celtic but has seen more action in Europe, featuring in the four Champions League group matches prior to last night and managing just one shot on goal. He has not scored in his last 11 games for Celtic and seems a player short of confidence. Neither he nor Balde took to the field last night.

Stokes, with five goals to his name, has yielded a better return but has struggled to make his mark in Europe, failing to score in any of his five appearances in the group stage. The Irishman was thrown on after 65 minutes, by which point the match was beyond Celtic; Milan three goals to the good and cruising towards their first away win of the season.

The responsibility for scoring does not lie entirely with the forwards, but without their regular input any team will struggle. Celtic have scored just twice in their five group games, and both came in the win over Ajax; one a penalty from winger James Forrest and the other a deflected strike by midfielder Biram Kayal. In their four other matches they have failed to register a solitary goal, a damning statistic that goes a long way to explaining their position at the foot of Group H.

It may be Lennon's biggest frustration that, as in the previous games at home to Barcelona and in Milan, they created but spurned a host of chances. Derk Boerrigter, handed his first Champions League start, passed up a decent early opportunity. Kayal could not shoot on target when the ball landed at his feet, Charlie Mulgrew shot tamely at the goalkeeper, Kris Commons fired over the top, Samaras had a header saved, Virgil van Dijk volleyed straight at the goalkeeper, and Forrest slid a chance wide.

When Celtic did find the net through Van Dijk, the Dutchman's header was flagged offside. At this level such profligacy always proves costly. Finding a striker who can score regularly on this stage, however, costs the sort of cash Celtic have been reluctant to spend. They made a dogged pursuit of Heerenveen's Alfred Finnbogason throughout the summer before being scared off by the £5m price tag.

Celtic have imposed a ceiling of around £3m on transfer fees since Lennon's appointment and there has been a reluctance to break that structure ever since. Supporters, however, may point towards the club's £9m net transfer takings this summer, on top of the £22m accrued from last season's Champions League run, and wonder whether there is merit in sometimes speculating to accumulate.