Celtic have endured mixed fortunes with their arrivals over the last couple of transfer windows since Brendan Rodgers returned to Parkhead.
Luis Palma has been arguably the most consistent of their summer incomings; meanwhile, Paulo Bernardo and Hyunjun Yang have shown moments suggesting they could be part of the long-term framework.
Nevertheless, there has been frustration from the support at those who haven’t hit the mark, or, more to the point, individuals who barely got their Celtic career off the ground before being farmed out on loan, such as Hyeokkyu Kwon and Marco Tilio.
In the January market, £3 million signing Nicolas Kuhn and loanee Adam Idah were brought in to strengthen the forward areas from Rapid Vienna and Norwich City, respectively.
However, it has been the latter who has established himself as an important squad member, registering five goals and one assist in his opening seven appearances across all competitions [Transfermarkt].
Idah did also miss a penalty against Heart of Midlothian yesterday, contributing to a wider problem that Celtic have from the spot.
At the time of his emergence, Sky Sports News journalist Anthony Joseph confirmed that there is no option to buy present in Idah’s agreement.
Despite this, Hoops boss Rodgers confirmed that he personally sought to complete a deal to sign the Republic of Ireland international after being alerted to his availability.
He stated: “This was a player that came to us late. His agent had rang me up and said there was a possibility he was going to go.
“The agent knew I’d liked him as a young player. When he told me he was available, it excited me because I’d seen him score a hat-trick in the Premier League as a young player. I’ve seen his profile and sometimes players just need a bit of a change of environment.”
Carlton Palmer has his say on Celtic buying Adam Idah outright
In light of his exploits since joining Celtic, there has been a growing clamour from some supporters to see the Scottish Premiership champions explore the possibility of signing Idah permanently.
Nevertheless, former England international Carlton Palmer doesn’t believe that Idah will come cheap. He has claimed the Bhoys may need to smash their £9 million record set by Odsonne Edouard to secure his signature.
Palmer told Football League World: “Norwich City are holding out for a big fee for Adam Idah, who’s gone on loan to Celtic.
“He’s enjoying life up at Celtic, but Norwich want a big fee, and he is under contract until the summer of 2028. The Irish international has scored five goals from his first six games in Scotland, so it’s a very, very bright start.
“He struggled for consistent game time with David Wagner’s side prior to his loan, but he did score seven goals and provide one assist in 34 appearances. It remains to be seen what the figure will be, but it will be more than the original £3 million that was touted at the start.
“It’s strange that Celtic didn’t agree a fee for him before he went up the road should they want to make the deal permanent. For a player of his age and as an international, the fee could be around £10 million, which would be seen as a reasonable fee for a player of his experience and stature.”
Celtic will need to decide whether they should pursue Adam Idah
Previous reports from Ireland have claimed that the 23-year-old may be available in the summer for a fee in excess of £3 million; nevertheless, we will need to wait and see whether that is the case.
Norwich City would be likely to demand a suitable financial reward in any exit scenario, though Celtic will need to decide on whether to try and firm up his temporary agreement.
Regardless, that will be put on the back burner for now, with our objective of winning a domestic double taking precedence.
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