Nadir Ciftci: Celtic cancel striker's contract a year early

Nadir Ciftci managed just four goals in three seasons for Celtic

Celtic striker Nadir Ciftci has had his contract cancelled a year early and will leave the club at the end of June.

The Turkish forward, 26, was signed by former manager Ronny Deila in 2015 from Dundee United but failed to impress.

He scored four times in 26 appearances but has not played for the first team since February 2017.

Cifti had loan spells with Turkish side Eskisehirspor, Polish team Pogon Szczecin, Plymouth Argyle and, for the second half of last season, Motherwell.

He scored three times for Well in 15 appearances, two of the goals coming in his final appearance - a 3-0 win over Hamilton Academical on 12 May.

However, the player who has played for both the Netherlands and Turkey at youth level was then ineligible to play for Stephen Robinson's side in his parent club's Scottish Cup final victory.

Deila moved to sign Ciftci for £1.5m from Dundee United after an impressive 2014-15 campaign in which he netted 16 goals.

However, the striker, who played for Portsmouth, Kayserispor and NAC Breda before joining United, never settled in Glasgow.

He featured only four times during Brendan Rodgers' time in charge of the Scottish champions.