Celtic’s chief executive Michael Nicholson has come under a lot of stick for more than one piece of transfer business this summer, having failed to strengthen in key areas of the pitch to bolster their chances of winning the Scottish Premiership trophy – but there is one stroke of genius that he pulled off in recent times that has given their board some form of credit, almost backhandedly.
Some first-team players left Celtic Park this summer, including Greg Taylor, Gustaf Lagerbielke, Luis Palma and Kwon Hyeok-kyu in terms of fringe players – though the departure of Nicolas Kuhn was undoubtedly their biggest sale as he joined Serie A side Como, removing a lot of their attacking focus from last year and weakening their squad.
Adam Idah’s Swansea Sale Could be a Stroke of Genius
Alongside Jota’s injury, that left the club quite weak in the wide areas, though they have combatted that with major signings in that cohort. But one area that they have failed to strengthen after a sale is their striking force – with Adam Idah heading to Swansea City on transfer deadline day.
Fans were rightly furious, especially having seen Kyogo Furuhashi depart for Rennes just six months earlier. However, it could turn out to be for the best, with Swansea fans so far massively disappointed with the Irish striker.
Idah came through Norwich City’s academy at the age of 16, featuring in 100 league games for their first-team but only scoring 12 goals, including one solo Premier League strike against Everton in January 2022.
A move to Celtic looked to be a rebirth, and he scored 29 goals in 76 games for the Hoops in all competitions before making the move to south Wales. But, despite his prolific form for Celtic at times, that has not translated well at the Liberty Stadium with one Swansea fan stating that signing Idah over new QPR signing Richard Kone was ‘criminal’.
Celtic Could Improve Striker Ranks With Huge Idah Fee
Although Idah was good for Celtic, getting at least £6million in for him is a good bit of business for a player who never really progressed at Parkhead. Sure, the Ireland international scored goals, but he will have expected to kick on away from Carrow Road and his development over that 18-month spell in Glasgow wasn’t sure-fire enough to properly suggest that he could be their main striker for years to come.
GIVEMESPORT Key Statistic: Adam Idah has six goals in 34 games for Celtic.
It’s since left Daizen Maeda and Shin Yamada as Brendan Rodgers’ two main striking options, whilst Kelechi Iheanacho signed after transfer deadline day and scored a winner on his debut against Kilmarnock to put the Hoops at the top of the table, remaining unbeaten and having only conceded their first goal in the league at Rugby Park last Sunday.
If Rodgers can get Maeda firing, and wait until the January transfer window before adding firepower to his forward line, then selling Idah could be a great move having failed to make his mark so far under Alan Sheehan’s Swans. If the Hoops can remain in the Europa League’s league phase and progress well in the domestic competitions, using the Idah money to bring in another replacement could turn out to be a great piece of business against the odds.