Adam Idah F. Celtic b.2001

[Jolly Red Giant]

I think that's a big disservice to Obafemi's abilities. He has a really good knack for key passes and layoffs as he showed with his audacious assist for Parrott's goal against Scotland and his tidy first-time layoff for Ferguson's debut goal. He's scored two worldies for us and got one against Chelsea, but for his debut goal, he cleverly dug the ball out from under his feet to force it home before a block came in. When he got a proper run in The Championship, he scored as regularly as Cannon. I think he made a mistake in forcing a move to Burnley but if he can get find a good, stable option, I think the only thing preventing him from becoming a very successful striker is his fitness.

That said, I do still believe that Idah can improve and also have a successful career.
Valid points - maybe I was a little too harsh with him

[Eirambler]

Idah linked with a transfer to Serie A before the end of the window - Genoa, Verona and Sassuolo all interested with Verona the current favourites according to the normally reasonably reliable Pete O'Rourke. Verona currently in the Serie A relegation zone.

Would be the surprise Irish transfer of the window if anything comes of that in the next few days.

[JR89]

Local journo saying it's BS. Pity if he's right because it would have been good to see him move away from England.

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[JR89]

PinkUn now reporting a bid has been made but sounds like he won't be leaving unless a replacement is sorted first.

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[Eirambler]

Has the local journo from yesterday deleted his tweet then? A bit embarrassing for him if national reporters ended up knowing more about what was going on at Norwich than he did.

Edit - yes I see he's doing a nice bit of backpedaling this evening, "this has moved" is a fair jump from yesterday's "we've reached that stage of the window" tweet!

Sounds like the only thing that might stop this is Norwich holding him back as squad cover, it seems that they're otherwise happy to see him go, so hopefully something does come of it. He's not improving at Norwich so a change might be for the best.

[SkStu]

Edit - yes I see he's doing a nice bit of backpedaling this evening, "this has moved" is a fair jump from yesterday's "we've reached that stage of the window" tweet!

Hahahahaaa :D :D

[Olé Olé]

Verona had some Dutch lad that they signed from Fortuna Sittard in January starting centre forward today. Fairly underwhelming record he had even in the Netherlands. Idah should fancy this.

[JR89]

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With 4.5yrs left on his contract surprised Norwich are agreeing to such a low buy clause.

[seanfhear]

1751963101929324736

With 4.5yrs left on his contract surprised Norwich are agreeing to such a low buy clause.
If true ~ Then it looks like Norwich have run out of patience with Adam Idah making it at Norwich.

[tetsujin1979]

he is their second top scorer this season.

[Eirambler]

I'm not massively sold on Idah at this point, his output to date is less than the sum of his parts for whatever reason. But, all the same, his size, pace and finishing ability makes him well worth a look for a team like Verona at €3m, especially when there's a try before you buy option built in to the deal.

[pineapple stu]

he is their second top scorer this season.

In large part because (a) he's their main penalty taker and (b) Sergeant has spent so long injured.

On a goals per minute basis he's way behind Rowe and Sergeant, and if you add in assists for the new-tangled goal involvements stat, he's lower again; way behind Sara and on par with Hwang.

It would be strange to let him move a year after signing a five-year deal though - or part of the plan, of course

[seanfhear]

If it happens it could be the making of him. Sometimes when a player makes a move ~ It gives them a kick-start / awaken-er.

[passinginterest]

Not surprised the interest is from Italy. Best game I've seen him play was against Italy under 21 in Tallaght. He was superb in that game. Closest he's come at senior level was probably away in Portugal. He has all the attributes to be a very good striker. He's strong, mobile, quick and was prolific up through the age groups. This is probably the longest spell he's gone without an injury, so if he can keep that up and find some more confidence the move could be brilliant for him.

[JR89]

If it happens it could be the making of him. Sometimes when a player makes a move ~ It gives them a kick-start / awaken-er.

Another positive is if there's interest for Parrott from clubs in Italy it might open him up to the possibility of going if Idah is there and doing well.

[Olé Olé]

I love this move all around. He's stuck in a cycle of injury, inconsistency and omission. It is completely hampering his development. He needs time in a less competitive and less physical league to get a run and show he can be a player. I'm thinking of some of the big centre forwards that developed later and did so in leagues like France such as Drogba and Giroud. Not sure if they had the injury profile that Idah had at a young age either.

Ideal that the move is a 6 month loan with an option to buy. No obligation on Verona. They seem to have two lads that can play centrally - Henry and Noslin. Henry is 6 foot 4 but has a patchy record. Surely he will get opportunities. Prove yourself lad.

[Eirambler]

Celtic have appeared from nowhere to ruin everything.

[Olé Olé]

Ugh. I would have fancied him for a good stint in Italy.

[Eirambler]

It seems he wants Celtic. I would guess a player from anywhere other than Scotland or Ireland would choose Italy in that situation. Top 5 league, quality opposition, great shop window, huge opportunity. I get the draw of winning silverware and being a 45 minute flight from home, but it doesn't feel like the right career move for him. Especially as their fans, as usual, have already made their minds up without ever seeing him play.

The thing with Idah is that he has all the attributes to be a great player, he's a big lad, quick and can take a chance when he gets one. But he just doesn't know how to put all that together and he doesn't impose himself enough physically despite his size advantage. I think he needs to go somewhere where he will be invested in and given the time and top level coaching he needs to become the player he could be. I'd be very surprised if the best place for that to happen is Celtic. Their supporters remain out of touch in terms of their standing and Scottish football's standing in the game and will turn on him fast if he doesn't hit the ground running.

[Stuttgart88]

Their supporters remain out of touch in terms of their standing and Scottish football's standing in the game and will turn on him fast if he doesn't hit the ground running.Or alternatively they see that their team is 2 points ahead of a Rangers team that is winning week in / week out for fun and that has 7 of its next 10 games at home whereas Celtic have 7 out of 10 away. It's a no-mistake zone from here on in and maybe they think a "work in progress" striker shouldn't be their priority in this transfer window when proven SPL goalscorers are probably available.

I agree with the broader assessment of him as a player. I'd love to see him do well and maybe dropping to a standard where his club is likely to dominate matches will help him. I just don't think this window is the right time for him unless Celtic also buy someone like Aberdeen's Miovsky, as Celtic may well cash in on Kyogo soon. They have the distinctly mediocre Oh returning from Asian Cup duty soon. Chris Sutton, knowledgable about Norwich and Celtic, doesn't think Idah is an upgrade on Oh.

[pineapple stu]

The thing with Idah is that he has all the attributes to be a great player, he [...] can take a chance when he gets one.


But, all the same, his [...] finishing ability makes him well worth a look for a team like Verona at €3m, .
In fairness, his finishing ability (and ability to anticipate a chance) has long been one of the weakest parts of his game. He's had some shocking misses this season for example - the tap-in earlier this month, a header six yards over from six yards out earlier in the season, the chance in the first minute against Holland. Even his offside goal away to Holland was a really poor effort that the Dutch keeper somehow fumbled over the line.

[Stuttgart88]

In fairness, his finishing ability (and ability to anticipate a chance) has long been one of the weakest parts of his game.Exactly this

[Stuttgart88]

He was prolific up through the age groupsWas he? I honestly can't remember. I knew he was generally well regarded and seen as a likely senior player but I wonder are we "misremembering" his actual goal scoring?

[pineapple stu]

23 goals in 46 underage caps is decent enough I guess.

But it's always a big final jump up to the senior game

[ifk101]

If he was putting away all his chances he'd be the complete striker and well outside the reach of Celtic or Verona. I'm a fan of Idah but he has taken a step back rather than forward this season. Turns 23 in February so this is the time he should be settled at senior football level and progressing.

[Jd2793]

Some Verona stats :

Expected goals - 17th
Non Penalty xg - 20th
Shots per/90 - 17th
Shots on target p/90 - 13th


Long Passes Attempted - 3rd
Short Passes Attempted - 20th
Crosses - 4th


Im not mad on the celtic move as he'll likely be 2nd fiddle to Kyogo but Verona are in a completely different situation to Celtic. Those stats read to me like he'd likely, even with plenty of game time, be feeding on mostly long balls and some crosses. Nothing against that of course, hes pretty good with his back to goal. They struggle (like most relegation candidates) to generate shots, Idah struggles at this himself. Going to celtic they'd be expected to dominate nearly every game , more possession should = more shots etc.
Hes in a tough spot. Dont envy him here at all.

[ifk101]

Those stats read to me like he'd likely, even with plenty of game time, be feeding on mostly long balls and some crosses.

That explains their interest then. Idah is a good 9, he can be used as a target but is a willing runner into channels. I suppose similar to a Shane Long type in what he offers (if technically better but less "energetic").

[Jd2793]

im worried about him getting more shots than he was getting at norwich. verona average about 2+ shots less than Norwich per game. Idah himself is getting 1.8 shots a game with a mid level champ team. can we expect him to start getting double the shots with a relegation candidate in serie a ?

[weldoninhio]

Or alternatively they see that their team is 2 points ahead of a Rangers team that is winning week in / week out for fun and that has 7 of its next 10 games at home whereas Celtic have 7 out of 10 away. It's a no-mistake zone from here on in and maybe they think a "work in progress" striker shouldn't be their priority in this transfer window when proven SPL goalscorers are probably available.

I agree with the broader assessment of him as a player. I'd love to see him do well and maybe dropping to a standard where his club is likely to dominate matches will help him. I just don't think this window is the right time for him unless Celtic also buy someone like Aberdeen's Miovsky, as Celtic may well cash in on Kyogo soon. They have the distinctly mediocre Oh returning from Asian Cup duty soon. Chris Sutton, knowledgable about Norwich and Celtic, doesn't think Idah is an upgrade on Oh.

Distinctly mediocre Oh who's averaging a league goal every 120 minutes for Celtic this season. Wish Ireland had a distinctly mediocre striker like that. The nonsense that gets spouted about Celtic and it's players in here is unreal

[ifk101]

im worried about him getting more shots than he was getting at norwich. verona average about 2+ shots less than Norwich per game. Idah himself is getting 1.8 shots a game with a mid level champ team. can we expect him to start getting double the shots with a relegation candidate in serie a ?

Don't know, haven't seen Verona play so don't know how Idah fits into their plans other than what your previous post could suggest. I can see a striker (5 goals) has left Verona in January so presumably they need a replacement. That striker is the "typical big man upfront head the ball" type of player which Idah isn't.

[Jd2793]

Don't know, haven't seen Verona play so don't know how Idah fits into their plans other than what your previous post could suggest. I can see a striker (5 goals) has left Verona in January so presumably they need a replacement. That striker is the "typical big man upfront head the ball" type of player which Idah isn't.

look it could work, hope it does. but i really think its a tough choice for him. being in a relegation scrap is tough going for forwards.

[Eirambler]

Apparently the deal to Celtic is done subject to a medical today. Hope he is given a fair chance there.

[MylesNotMiley]

They've had a poor transfer window and Rodgers knows he needed someone with a bit of physicality up front - that's why they were looking at Miovski & Van Hooijdonk.

Aberdeen wanted bigish money for Miovski and it looks like Van Hooijdonk chose Norwich - he's a stopgap at Celtic, if he performs it might become permanent, but I wouldn't hold my breath - hope I'm wrong, but I'd expect him to be back at Norwich in the summer.

[Stuttgart88]

Distinctly mediocre Oh who's averaging a league goal every 120 minutes for Celtic this season. Wish Ireland had a distinctly mediocre striker like that. The nonsense that gets spouted about Celtic and it's players in here is unreal

Ah come on (or Oh come on). Oh is wholly unreliable in front of goal. I don't know any Celtic fan who's won over by him. He has his good moments but also his bad ones. He has scored some late important goals and he has also scored some ultra-late goals against beaten opposition. But he also misses a lot of good chances, falls over the ball holding it up...Overall, mediocre is exactly what he is. Far from "unreal nonsense".

[weldoninhio]

Ah come on (or Oh come on). Oh is wholly unreliable in front of goal. I don't know any Celtic fan who's won over by him. He has his good moments but also his bad ones. He has scored some late important goals and he has also scored some ultra-late goals against beaten opposition. But he also misses a lot of good chances, falls over the ball holding it up...Overall, mediocre is exactly what he is. Far from "unreal nonsense".

Strikers are paid to score goals. He's averaging 1 every 120 minutes coming on late into games in a new league with a completely different challenges and culture. I'd rather 1 Oh than 3 Adam Idahs.

[Stuttgart88]

Fine but less of the hyperbolic unreal nonsense stuff please. Mine is a valid opinion shared by many. I’d rate Oh over Idah too. Right now I think Celtic need better than both.

[Razors left peg]

I dont love the Celtic move for Idah but Ive always rated him and maybe a change of scenery could kickstart him a little. Celtic have a history of signing lads who have been struggling at other clubs and end up successful. Chris Sutton for example,when he signed was a disaster at Chelsea and he rehabilitated his career. I know Sutton had high level of success previously and Im not comparing him to Idah necessarily, but I do think there is a player in Idah. I'd rather he not go to Celtic, because Im not sure hes guaranteed to play, but equally I think he has the ability to go there and do very well.

Its only a half season loan so its potentially worth a punt for both sides

[Snapshot]

The big negative for Idah is that Norwich, just one win outside the play-off positions, believe he has nothing to offer in a push for promotion. Not even off the bench. That's damaging.

And Celtic are out of Europe, so apart from a couple of pressure games (if selected) against Rangers it's the might of such as Ross County, St Johnstone and Livingston. He'll need to score a lot to prove he hasn't found his level.

[Stuttgart88]

I'd agree with Razor that there does appear to be a good footballer in there but we've only seen it in patches so far. At some stage in his career he'll have to step up to prove it so hopefully that time is now. If he can't get in among the goals regularly against some of the sides he'll be up against then maybe he's just not as good as we thought he might be. I wish him well and am looking forward to being surprised on the upside.

[pineapple stu]

Finally confirmed an hour before the transfer window shuts - loan move till the end of the season. General look around the forums is that Norwich fans aren't bothered and Celtic fans are a bit bothered by that.

Been clear for a while now that he needed a loan move to get some regular starts - just not sure if he'll find that at Celtic though? Be interesting to see how he gets on all the same. While it's a good opportunity, Stutts' point about what happens if his scoring rate remains low is valid

[Razors left peg]

It really is a wait and see how it goes move. No one really knows what to expect, even those of us who like him more than others

[backstothewall]

I'd be concerned that he's swapping a dugout in East Anglia for one in the east end of Glasgow

[samhaydenjr]

I'd be concerned that he's swapping a dugout in East Anglia for one in the east end of Glasgow

I'd be concerned that Celtic might ship him off to play Gala Fairydean Rovers! In fairness, the Lowland and Highland Leagues have clubs with the best names: Caledonian Braves, Cumbernauld Colts, Civil Service Strollers, Bo'ness United.

[elatedscum]

Hopefully he goes there and bangs in the goals. I do think he has the ability to do that. Big issue is his confidence. For Ireland at least, he often he gets in areas to shoot and doesn’t pull the trigger. Hopefully Brendan Rodgers, as flawed as he is, can get him played the best football of his career. He got the best out of better footballers (Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge, Raheem Sterling etc)

[Razors left peg]

He got the number 9, and I'll be honest when I seen a Pic of him in the shirt I got excited.

[weldoninhio]

He's thankfully not gonna get a game ahead of Kyogo, Abada, Kuhn, or Palma. Hopefully take the Mikey Johnstone, 5 min cameo when the game is won role so he doesn't do too much damage to Celtics title run in.

[ifk101]

All those names are midgets so maybe that's the reason Celtic have brought Idah in - i.e. somebody for others to play off? Don't follow Celtic too closely and can understand the signing of Idah does not excite, but he can be a decent attack pivot - as he showed for us in the home game against Holland.

[Eirambler]

If he's given a fair chance he'll score a few goals at that level, it's a lower standard of football than he's ever played before, in terms of senior football anyway. The question is whether he'll get the minutes or not. You just can't trust Celtic to get the best out of him, if he's going to do it he'll be doing it by himself. In that's respect it's a big challenge for him.

[Stuttgart88]

He's thankfully not gonna get a game ahead of Kyogo, Abada, Kuhn, or Palma. Hopefully take the Mikey Johnstone, 5 min cameo when the game is won role so he doesn't do too much damage to Celtics title run in.But all of those are wide players except for Kyogo. I doubt that's how they'll be using Idah. He's been given the 9 shirt but that may not mean anything. I think he has been brought in to be a handful upfront. We disagree on how useful Oh is but I think that's his opportunity, either as an in-game sub for Kyogo or to complement him. Rodgers isn't getting anything like as much from Kyogo as Ange did.

On one hand I think the big pitch at Celtic presents an opportunity for him. On the other, most teams play a low block against Celtic and it's here (in contrast to Ferguson) I've had concerns about Idah. He's just not as adept at sniffing out a chance with a well timed dash to the 6 yard line or pulling back to the penalty spot.

I'd say his athleticism and physicality will cause trouble though.

I've rarely wanted an Irish player's move to work out as much as I want this one to.

A reliable source tells me he's a great character and well-liked in the dressing room.

[weldoninhio]

If he's given a fair chance he'll score a few goals at that level, it's a lower standard of football than he's ever played before, in terms of senior football anyway. The question is whether he'll get the minutes or not. You just can't trust Celtic to get the best out of him, if he's going to do it he'll be doing it by himself. In that's respect it's a big challenge for him.

It's not lower than coming up against the likes of Azerbaijan and drawing a blank, Bulgaria and drawing a blank, Finland and drawing a blank, or New Zealand and drawing a blank. Any starting SPFL defender would stroll into those senior international teams.