Well, it’s been a long time coming, but last night, Celtic finally made the move to sign Irish striker Adam Idah, after his superb loan spell last season where his goals and assists were instrumental in helping us secure the double.
We’re probably never going to find out what took so long for this deal to go through. The board doesn’t think we’re entitled to know those details. They want us to focus on the fact that the deal is almost done. We’re not supposed to ask why it wasn’t closed earlier, but there’s a lingering suspicion that the sale of Matt O’Riley might have something to do with it.
It feels like we’re waiting for that before the club finally sanction proper signings and give the manager the backing he needs.
We’re close to being back where we were at the end of last season, at least in terms of the starting eleven and some substitutes. But the squad as a whole is still weaker, thanks to the sale of players like Oh. And let’s not forget that we might lose some central defenders soon, although none of them would’ve made the first team anyway.
There’s clearly still a lot of work to be done, even if the Idah deal gets completed.
This deal might cost us more than we initially thought—possibly more than the £6 million that was projected. But honestly, I’m not going to complain about the cost.
We’ll have got ourselves a good player here. I might grumble about how long it took, but that’s about it. I have no doubts about the lad himself. The naysayers will have to eat their words because we’ve all seen what Idah can do.
He adds a different dimension up front—a different style compared to other forwards we’ve had. He’s aggressive in the box, roughs up defenders, has a bit of pace, imagination, flair, and is always alert. He was the guy who was there to put away the rebound in the Scottish Cup Final, and on that stage, under that pressure, he proved his worth.
Idah is still a young player, and people tend to forget that. Some have been quick to dismiss him, saying he doesn’t represent the same level of investment as Edouard. But that’s nonsense. What matters is what he brings to the squad, not what he might be worth in the future. For those of us focused on football and the strength of the squad, this is good business. We’re not second-guessing anything because we know the quality we’re getting with Idah.
Under normal circumstances, signing a player for this kind of money would feel like a gamble. But with Idah, it’s not. We’ve already seen what he can do, under pressure, and in big games.
That’s why this deal isn’t risky.
If you had told us when Idah first came here that we’d be paying £6 million to keep him, most folks would’ve scoffed. I was one of the few who was optimistic because he clearly ticked the boxes for Brendan Rodgers.
But I was worried that we didn’t have an option to buy. I knew if he was a success here he’d go back to Norwich, and we’d need to fight to get him. Their manager had sent him here to give him game time and to find out if he could increase his worth. The change of manager might have made things very tough for us, and he initially wanted a look.
But there was always a suspicion that he wasn’t invested in Idah one way or another, and would be happier with the cash to spend on his own players. It was always more likely than not that the moment Celtic got serious that there was a deal to be done, precisely the reason a lot of us were angry at the club for not having done it before now.
Idah is worth it. He fits the team, the system, and most importantly, he has the right mentality for this club. He’s shown that he has the mental toughness to perform in big games, like scoring off the bench at Ibrox and Hampden. That’s something you can’t guarantee with any other player we might have brought in for £6 million.
So, when people ask me if I’ll be pleased about this signing, the answer is obvious. Of course, I’ll be pleased. We wanted quality, and we got quality. Both Bernardo and Idah were here last season, and they proved themselves. They’ll fit perfectly into Rodgers’ system.
But there’s still work to be done, especially with the potential loss of O’Riley.
He’s been a top-class player for us, and replacing him will be a challenge.
But as for the Adam Idah transfer saga, it’s felt like it’s dragged on forever. We’ll all be glad when it’s finally done, with Idah holding a Celtic shirt.
To be honest, this time last week, I wasn’t sure we’d pull it off.
But if we do, it’ll be an excellent piece of business for the club, the fans, and especially for the manager, who trusts and believes in Idah. And Idah has done everything to justify that trust. We’re getting ourselves one heck of a player here.
Miovski looks a better option. More mobile, greater skill set, will score goals for fun and appears to be a better option for Europe. Suppose we could have signed both, however, this is Lawwellball.
I agree – be careful with Idah – form is temporary class is permanent. Miovski has European experience. Does Idah? Also we saw in the last Sevco game he missed two good chances right at the end. Having said that, he is better than Oh so I can live with it.
Still maintain Miovski may have been a better purchase. Proven more in his time at Aberdeen.
Lawall away also to Stoke, I am guessing Brendan didn’t see him as a good fit.
Wish that a certain other Lawall would fuck off to Stoke JimBhoy…
Which would be quite appropriate actually given the controversy that he doth ‘Stoke’ at Celtic !!!
Perplexed why anyone would think Idah is a gamble at the price, we have loads of cash and has everyone seen the real transfer market ??
Get the deal done Celtic, in my opinion not much between Idah and Miovski but I do think Idah’s style is what we need as an alternative to Kyogo especially when playing teams who park the bus.
Now go and get a LB to give competition or cover for GT, Sadly I would say O’Riley is almost irreplaceable but another midfielder needs to be brought in, but I’m a realist and won’t compare him to O’Riley.
Get miovvski as well.
All this palaver is us standing still, no gains stil even with idah and bernardo its standing still and with MOR gone weaker.
Suggest you review my comments from last week that you lost your shit at
Why wasn’t the deal completed earlier? Well, Norwich did say that they weren’t prepared to do anything until the new manager had a look at Idah in the pre-season. Perhaps, that and a suggested price of £10m plus have delayed matters. Most seemed to be of the view previously that his value was around the £6m mark. I am sure that previous articles on here will confirm such.
Board saving up for main stand capacity incresse , leading to even greater profits moving forward??
“We’re not second-guessing anything because we know the quality we’re getting with Idah.”
If the board read your quote above James they will think it vindicates there current policy albeit they need to ensure the right to buy (and figure agreed before hand) will be inserted in the clause.
As long as its Brendan who is pushing a loan and option deal am fine with that provided they can enhance the first team straight away.
On a separate note that piece on the coefficient had me up half the night last night. A scary prospect indeed
That’s great if we can get idah back and signed, would like to see celtic hijack the Miovski deal if it’s true he’s off to Spain, if it’s a fair transfer price I’d love him in a celtic jersey.
It would also show the team is preparing for Europe with 3 good strikers, Miovski,s wages would also be reasonable as Aberdeen wouldn’t have been paying him an unaffordable wage .
The deal isn’t done yet and I’ll be glad when it is, the delay was probably about haggling over the price so you’d think that’s been sorted now but if it falls through for any reason we’re left scrambling. If the reported price is right £6m rising to £8m, then I’m fine with that. We may or may not make money on him but the squad needs him now. I’d still sign Miovski as well but I’m greedy.
Idah should be our number 1 striker.far better than kyogo.power, pace ,can head ,an absolute steal at 6 million.hel be our number 1 in the matter of weeks.miovski couldn’t lace adams danny leroos fs !!
Six or seven million pounds these days are not quite the sums they used to be.
Imagine what a John Hartson type of marquee signing equivalent would be today?
Surely 20 million. But Celtic admin still think £1 can still get you more than a couple of wee packets of noodles