Celtic star Shim Mheuka reveals friendship with Rangers cult hero, his Parkhead dreams and goal that never was
Shim Mheuka has arrived at Celtic Park with a big reputation and an even bigger sense of self-assurance — the 18-year-old Chelsea loanee making clear he followed his own path north to Glasgow, even if it happened to run parallel to that of a close friend now on the other side of the city’s great
Mheuka’s move to Parkhead this summer came somewhat out of the blue, with Celtic beating off competition from a number of Championship clubs to secure the England Under-19 international on a season-long loan from Chelsea. But before making his decision, Mheuka reached out to someone who already knew Glasgow football intimately: Mikey Moore, his England youth teammate, who spent last season on loan at Rangers
“I’ve been part of the England squads with Mikey. I watched his games from last year,” Mheuka explained. “He’s a good friend of mine so I spoke to him before I came here and he told me it’s a beautiful city and I’d really enjoy it.” It’s a rare and slightly unusual dynamic in the deeply tribal world of Glasgow football — a young player leaning on advice from a close friend and international teammate who’d experienced the city from the Ibrox side of the divide, in order to help inform a decision to sign for Celtic instead.
Mheuka was quick to stress, though, that Moore’s own experience wasn’t the deciding factor in his own choice. “It’s more about what’s best for me than what Mikey has done and what was the best next step in my development,” he said. “But Mikey is a good friend and did really well.” That framing — genuine respect and friendship, but a clear insistence on charting his own individual path rather than simply following in a friend’s footsteps — speaks to a maturity and self-possession that’s already been noted in how Mheuka has conducted himself publicly since his arrival.
If Moore provided the practical, on-the-ground insight into life in Glasgow, it was Mheuka’s father who ultimately helped steer him toward Celtic specifically. Malcolm Mheuka was himself a professional footballer back in Zimbabwe, playing for top-flight sides including Zimbabwe Saints and Circle Cement, and it was his firsthand football knowledge — including specific insight into Celtic and manager Martin O’Neill — that proved influential in his son’s eventual decision
Mheuka spoke warmly and at length about his father’s role in his career and life more broadly. “He’s been there for me all my life, along with my mum and my brother as well,” he said. “It helps having a father who has played the game and understands the different elements of what to expect and what not to expect. I wouldn’t be here without him. He’s my best supporter — and also my harshest critic. He’s always in the back of my mind when I’m playing, I think what he’s thinking. He’s been an amazing influence in my life.” He added that he’s watched footage of his father’s playing career and seen him referenced in old newspaper clippings from Zimbabwe, describing him as “a decent player” who operated in midfield, either as a No. 8 or a No. 10 — a footballing pedigree that clearly runs in the family, even if father and son have ended up on opposite sides of the pitch, position-wise, given Shim’s own development as
Mheuka’s early Celtic career has already produced one moment of genuine, if ultimately unrewarded, drama. Against St Mirren, he was desperately unlucky not to open his goalscoring account for the club, having what appeared to be his first Celtic goal ruled out for offside following a lengthy VAR review — a check so marginal that officials were reportedly unable to draw a clear offside line at all, leaving the decision hanging on the finest of margins. It’s the kind of moment that can define a young player’s early emotional experience of a new club — the taste of what should have been a landmark first goal, denied not by any lack of quality in the finish itself, but by the unforgiving, forensic scrutiny of modern
Despite that early disappointment, Mheuka has already made a striking impression at Celtic Park, both through his performances and his composure in front of the media. His underlying numbers at youth level help explain why Celtic moved so decisively to secure his signature ahead of Championship rivals: he scored 25 goals in 49 appearances for Chelsea’s Under-21 side, and a further 16 in 25 games for England’s Under-19s — a genuinely eye-catching return that points to a natural, instinctive goalscoring ability rather than simply promise or potential yet to be proven
He’s already found the net twice in a Celtic shirt, and by some assessments, both goals have ranked among the most eye-catching strikes scored by any Celtic player so far this season, contributing to a growing sense of anticipation around Parkhead that Martin O’Neill may have unearthed a genuinely significant talent on loan. With his cameo appearances already generating real excitement among supporters, Mheuka could now be in line for his first Celtic start, with the club’s next fixture — away to St Johnstone — offering an obvious opportunity for O’Neill to hand him an extended run in the
Mheuka’s swift impact does raise broader questions about squad balance in Celtic’s forward line, given the club made a number of loan additions late in the summer window. There’s a specific cautionary tale from earlier in the year underpinning some of that concern: at centre-forward specifically, the January additions of Bundesliga pair Tomas Cvancara and Junior Adamu ultimately failed to have the desired impact, with the two forwards combining for just three goals between them across their time at the club — a reminder that not every loan signing, however promising on paper, translates into meaningful goal contributions once installed in a new environment and system.
Mheuka’s early returns suggest he may prove considerably more incisive than that particular precedent, but his continued progress will also have implications for other attacking players further down Celtic’s pecking order, with reports suggesting the club’s summer recruitment in forward areas could leave certain existing squad members facing an uncertain path to regular game time as a direct consequence of the teenager’s swift, promisin
What comes through most clearly across Mheuka’s early media appearances is a young player determined to establish his own identity at Celtic, distinct from both his friendship with a Rangers loanee and his father’s own footballing legacy in Zimbabwe. He’s spoken with genuine warmth about both influences — Moore’s practical advice about life in the city, his father’s football wisdom and constant, honest presence in his footballing development — while being equally clear that the decision to join Celtic, and the early impact he’s made since arriving, are entirely his own to own and build upon.
For a supporter base always alert to genuine emerging talent, and for a manager in O’Neill weighing up how best to deploy an increasingly crowded and competitive forward line, Mheuka’s opening weeks at Parkhead have offered plenty of reason for optimism — an 18-year-old who’s already scored twice, been desperately unlucky not to make it three, and shown a level of composure and self-awareness in interviews that belies his age and the pressure that inevitably comes with wearing the Celtic jersey, friendship with a former Ibrox loanee notwithstanding.
