Celtic’s summer transfer window was an interesting one.
There was plenty of speculation around Brendan Rodgers’ transfer targets, particularly those who weren’t brought to the club.
The likes of David Strelec, Louis Munteanu and Jamie Vardy were linked with a move to Celtic Park as the Hoops pursued a long-awaited replacement for Kyogo Furuhashi.
The sale of Adam Idah to Swansea came out of nowhere, and despite Rodgers publicly demanding the opposite, he was sold without a replacement forthcoming.
After further late pursuits of Kasper Dolberg and Datro Fofana, the search eventually ended with Kelechi Iheanacho – and one ex-teammate has weighed in on the striker situation.
Ex-Adam Idah teammate on Celtic striker situation
Idah competed with Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda during his time in Glasgow, and wasn’t always the first choice.
He wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but scored crucial goals in big games and registered a decent scoring record despite often being used from the bench.
WATCH: Celtic 0-2 Braga… reaction
Someone who knows Idah well is Kenny McLean, who shared a dressing room with him for his entire spell at Norwich.
Speaking on TNT Sports’ broadcast of the Hoops’ Europa League defeat against Braga, he detailed the profile that the Irishman – and why Celtic could miss him.
McLean said: “I think the big thing is the striker situation. Obviously I’m guessing that they were in the market for a striker in the summer.
“They let Adam Idah go and didn’t replace him in the window. Listen, I’m not saying Adam Idah was pulling up any trees, but as a striker he was a focal point.
“It’s different to when Maeda filled in. He did it well, but when a striker’s got his back to goal and links up. We can see that Iheanacho needs to get up to speed, but he’s a very intelligent footballer and he knows how to play the game.
“It will take time, but they’ve got the quality and it can click.”
Celtic’s striker situation
Iheanacho had a goal inexplicably ruled out in the Braga defeat – he should be reflecting on scoring his first goal at Celtic Park.
Much has been made of his fitness since his move to Glasgow, but given what he has shown since making the move, it may be worth simply giving him a run of games.
Maeda was moved to a wing-back position for the second half of the Braga match, after underwhelming performances as striker so far this campaign.
With Shin Yamada and Johnny Kenny still firmly on the fringes, Rodgers still has to work out exactly what he wants his attack to look like
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