Celtic have a huge problem now, writes Kris Boyd - but it's not Harry Kane and their Champions League play-off showdown

ALAN SHEARER will always be the top England No 9 in my view.

But Harry Kane is up there with the best of the rest.

Is he better than Robbie Fowler, Wayne Rooney or Michael Owen?

Not for me — but there is no doubt Kane deserves to be listed in that company.

7 Harry Kane will visit Celtic Park with Bayern Munich next month Credit: AP

7 He has a scored on each visit to Glasgow with England Credit: Times Newspapers Ltd

7 Celtic will go into the game without their frontman Daizen Maeda Credit: Kenny Ramsay

Prolific for club and country, the England captain will be in Scotland for the Champions League play-off this month.

Apologies to all my Celtic friends out there, but I’d be stunned if Brendan Rodgers’ side even come close to going through.

That’s not a dig. It’s just the reality.

To even compete with Bayern Munich, Celts will have to hit levels they have never reached before in the Champions League.

In Kane, the German giants have one of the top strikers in world football.

He is one of the best in the business, his numbers tell you that. Celtic will have to find a way to stop him to have any small chance of an upset.

Kane’s record is phenomenal, and you can’t switch off for a second against him.

Everybody remembers Leigh Griffiths’ two free-kicks against England at Hampden in 2017.

Yet who had the final say? Kane, with a proper striker’s finish at the back post to claim a 2-2 draw. He did very little that day, but all he needed was one chance, and bang, it’s a goal.

Kane will take part outside the box at times but with that top-class Bayern supporting cast, he doesn’t really need to.

Harry Kane scores from a distance in Bayern Munich training

He has 24 goals in 26 appearances this season. Last year he got 44 in 45 games. He might be 31 now, but are those the numbers of a striker who is slowing down?

Kane is one of the best England has ever produced and he’s still at the top of his game.

Critics will point to his lack of trophies but he was too loyal to Tottenham for too long.

Manchester City and any other English club would have loved to sign him a few years ago.

Kane WILL get his hands on silverware this season.

The Champions League will probably be a step too far for Bayern Munich as the likes of Real Madrid are stronger.

But don’t think for a second that Celtic have got off lightly by dodging the current holders.

Let’s face it, Borussia Dortmund took seven off Celts, and Bayern are better than them.

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I have had a laugh and a joke about Celtic’s favourable fixtures in the Champions League this season, but they are due credit for qualifying.

These were teams that they have lost to or drawn with in previous years, but not this time.

Celtic played well in most games and got the points they needed. That has brought in millions of pounds and taken them into the knockouts.

It would be a shock if they went any further, and the loss of Daizen Maeda for the first leg against Bayern is a huge blow.

I’m also surprised Celtic are still searching for a left-back and striker going into the final days of the window.

They were playing with fire selling Kyogo Furuhashi at this stage of the season, nobody will convince me otherwise.

If they had a ready-made replacement to step in, the fans would have understood. But a week on and Rodgers still doesn’t have a new No 9 in his squad, and is now looking at the loan market.

The left-back situation is also puzzling. Alex Valle wanted to go to Como where he has been promised more game time.

7 Greg Taylor is Celtic's only remaining full-back - and that's a problem says his old pal from Killie Credit: Getty

7 Letting Kyogo leave has Celtic in a worse position than they started the month, according to Boyd Credit: Kenny Ramsay

7 Cyriel Dessers is no Harry Kane - but he can still do a job Credit: Willie Vass

But with Kieran Tierney’s arrival delayed to the summer, Celtic now have a problem.

Greg Taylor is the last man standing, and Rodgers needs to find a left-back for a few months to plug a hole, with little chance of a permanent deal.

It’s not an ideal situation and, even with Jota signing, Celtic are weaker in certain positions than they were on January 1.

Across the city, Rangers again excelled in the Europa League, and deserve all the praise they are getting.

The odds were stacked against them, but they found a way to get another fantastic result against Union Saint-Gilloise.

How far can Gers go now? Depending on the luck of the draw, you just never know.

Right now, it’s unlikely they will bother the semi-final or final, but if the draw opens up, anything is possible.

Rangers have been so strong at Ibrox and will fancy their chances at home against anyone.

Philippe Clement had a lot of good performers on Thursday, but once again, Cyriel Dessers stepped up.

Yes, the Nigerian missed chances, but he led the line so well and was instrumental in Vaclav Cerny’s clincher.

Clement needs to focus on domestic consistency now, but with Dessers in this form, they should see off Ross County comfortably on Sunday.

The big man is no Harry Kane, but as he showed once again . . . he’s nowhere near as bad as some people make out.

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