Celtic managed to bolster their forward line late on in the January transfer window by bringing Adam Idah in on loan from Norwich City.
The Republic of Ireland international wasn’t a universally popular signing among the Parkhead faithful, considering that his short-term agreement does not include an option to buy.
Nevertheless, the 23-year-old has had a marked impact at Parkhead, registering five goals and one assist in his opening nine appearances [Transfermarkt].
With his side in the midst of a Scottish Premiership title race, Idah has produced some late heroics against Hibernian and Motherwell since joining, which stopped Brendan Rodgers’ reigning champions from falling even further behind.
Offering variety in the final third, Idah has played on his own or as part of a front two in attack with Kyogo Furuhashi, and will take valuable experience from his period as a Celtic player into his future career.
Reports in Ireland indicated earlier this year that the Hoops may be able to land the Cork-born man for a fee in the region of £3 million.
It remains to be seen whether Celtic will carry out any advances to secure his signature permanently, with Rodgers likely to assess his squad in the summer before making any final decisions on players.
Stephen Kenny speaks about Celtic loanee Adam Idah
Former Republic of Ireland boss Stephen Kenny has extensive experience working with Idah in both the Boys in Green’s senior and Under-21 set-up and is only too familiar with his ability and potential.
The 52-year-old has shed some light on why he believes Rodgers is the perfect manager for Idah at this stage of his career; meanwhile, Kenny has also elaborated on why he believes the striker’s contribution could end up being pivotal come the end of the season.
Kenny stated [The Celtic Way]: “He can only enhance the Celtic forward line and contribute positively in terms of his goals. He has shown that he can lead the Celtic attack and play with or without Kyogo Furuhashi in the team.
He later added: “It is a different style of football for Adam and he will know that from turning out against Scottish teams who play with a low block and where space is limited. He likes to open his legs and exploit space but he will have had to adapt to the fact that sometimes in Scottish Premiership games that space won’t be there.
“Tactically under Brendan, I know he will be getting the work put into his game for him to progress again. That is one of Brendan’s key strengths and whatever happens to Adam at the end of his loan spell he will certainly be a better player for it.
Finishing up on why he thinks Idah could prove crucial for Celtic, Kenny said: “The title will be won by a minimal amount of points. The league flag will be decided by fine margins and that is why the goals that Adam scores for Celtic will be a major contributory factor come the end of the season.
“The late winners against Hibs at Easter Road and Motherwell at Fir Park may turn out to be critical for Celtic in terms of the title race and as they could be the difference.”
Idah has added a different dynamic to Celtic’s forward line
Idah is a completely different profile of striker to the likes of Furuhashi, and he has helped to add some physicality and running power to the Celtic forward line.
Whether his stay ends up being a short-term one or otherwise, the Irishman hasn’t looked out of place at Parkhead and has earned the respect of supporters who were once sceptical surrounding his arrival.
Hopefully, the 23-year-old can continue his rich vein of form before we see where his future lies come the summer.