Adam Idah only needs to keep scoring for Celtic and everything else will come.

I’ve read a lot of stuff online recently about Adam Idah, specifically concerning his omission from the Republic of Ireland starting eleven for the Greece game, and how he didn’t even make it off the bench.

Some people are using that as evidence to suggest Celtic overpaid for him, but I think that’s far from the truth. Either way, he can’t let it bother him. Adam knows what he needs to do, and he’s more than capable of doing it. For that reason, I’m not going to put too much stock in this notion that him being benched somehow validates that we overspent.

Let’s break this down into two distinct arguments because, really, there are two separate strands here that are getting conflated in the discussion about his transfer fee, causing a lot of misleading debate.

First: Did Celtic pay more for Adam Idah than many us would have liked?

In my view, yes, absolutely, and I hold the board responsible for that. They dragged their feet, turning a deal that could have been done for £6 million into one that cost us nearly £9 million. From the start, I said that once the price hit £7 million that there were better options at that price. The idea of spending £9 million on him at the start of the window would have seemed absurd, even inexcusable.

There are definitely better players available for £9 million, and I refuse to believe we couldn’t have found them if our recruitment system was properly organised. That’s on the people who are responsible for scouting and recruitment, and it’s a damning reflection on those who thought the chairman’s son was the right person to run it. It’s been an absolute disaster.

So, yes, we paid more than I think we should have for Adam Idah. But that doesn’t mean he isn’t worth £9 million in today’s transfer market.

We’ve signed a young Republic of Ireland international striker, a product of a prestigious academy, in his early 20s, with physicality, pace, and a keen eye for goal. He’s shown he can deliver on big occasions, keeping his cool when it matters most.

In today’s market, Adam Idah is worth £9 million.

It doesn’t mean there aren’t better players in that price range, but you can make a case for him belonging there. Brendan Rodgers obviously did, and the board agreed, pushing through the deal after the manager made it clear this was the player he wanted.

As for those who think Idah already looks shaky, that the investment seems risky, I honestly don’t know what they’re watching. I’ve seen this sentiment floating around, particularly after the Dortmund game, and I find it utterly ridiculous. Some fans were quick to write him off after his first start when he didn’t immediately bag a hat-trick.

Frankly, I’m more frustrated with those supporters than I am with Idah.

The guy has four goals in nine appearances this season. Last season, he scored nine goals in 19 appearances. He’s well on his way to matching, if not surpassing, that tally, and I fully expect him to prove he’s worth the investment.

Did he struggle at Ross County?

No more than Kyogo did when he came on. Rodgers analysed the game and saw what went wrong: we didn’t move the ball quickly enough, and the wide players didn’t do their job. Everything changed when Rodgers made the substitutions, and the style shifted. If Idah had stayed on the pitch, I have no doubt he’d have improved as the game opened up.

It was a poor performance for the first 60 minutes, and to single out one player as if he were responsible for that is just nonsensical. Idah doesn’t deserve that kind of criticism.

As for whether his performance contributed to him not featuring against Greece? Who knows—that’s a question for the Republic of Ireland manager, who made a decision that clearly didn’t pay off. He’ll have to answer for why he left a £9 million striker on the bench when the team needed a result.

People always talk about players justifying their fees, but that’s never been the player’s job. No football in history should ever have to justify what those who bought him paid, it’s the board who sanctioned the move, and they’re the ones who have to answer that.

In purely footballing terms, I have no doubt Idah will prove his worth, again and again, in big, important games. He’s in the unenviable position of being at a club that only plays with one striker upfront—and that striker is usually the brilliant and beloved Kyogo Furuhashi. But Rodgers has made it clear he plans to rotate them both, and I still believe his decision to start Idah at Ross County was the right call, even if things didn’t go our way initially.

All Adam Idah has to do is keep doing what he does best: get into the right positions and score goals in a Celtic shirt. Any player knows their primary job is to make themselves indispensable to the manager. If he can do that, he won’t have to worry about recognition from the national coach—that will come in time.

People forget how young Idah is. They forget that we’re watching a player at the start of his development, and yet he already has so much to offer. But he’s also got a lot to prove and plenty of growing to do as a footballer.

The reason Rodgers wanted him—and why I’m not overly concerned about the fee is that we know what we got for the money. He’s shown it when it’s mattered, and if, like me, you judge a player not by their Transfermarkt valuation but by their contributions on the pitch, then I have no doubt that £9 million will prove to be money well spent.