CELTIC could be on a £5million collision course with Norwich City over their reported £5million evaluation of Adam Idah.
The 23-year-old Republic of Ireland international striker has five games left on his short-term loan deal to persuade Brendan Rodgers if he is worth a permanent contract at the champions.
Idah has been in the thick of it in his 14 appearances since joining from the Championship outfit late in the January window. He has scored seven goals, missed a crucial penalty-kick in the controversial 2-0 loss to Hearts at Tynecastle and put the ball in his own net to set up a nervy conclusion to the 2-1 win over Dundee last weekend.
The powerhouse frontman has obviously jumped ahead of South Korean Oh Hyeon-gyu in the pecking order behind Kyogo Furuhashi in the Hoops firing line.
OOPS…Adam Idah shows his disappointment after missing from the penalty spot in the 2-0 loss against Hearts at Tynecastle.
However, I believe Celtic may baulk at the Carrow Road side’s minimum requirement fee for their player, a transfer rating that was flagged up by the Scottish Sun.
Idah still has four years remaining on his contract with the second-tier club, but he has failed to win a regular place in their first team and had become a bit-part player after failing to convince boss David Wagner of his qualities.
Back in March in a CQN report, I stated Norwich were happy to strike a deal to allow their player to leave, especially with USA international marksman Josh Sargent returning from injury.
At that stage, I noted observers across the border had elevated Idah’s transfer value to the £5million region when £3million seemed a more viable proposition.
I see no reason to alter that train of thought. There is no fixed option in the loan arrangement for Celtic to buy the forward and his parent club can demand what they see fit for their player.
A couple of months ago, I reckoned the East Anglian outfit saw Parkhead as the ideal shop window for the Cork-born player and, if he performed to a reasonable standard, they would be in a position to hold an auction in the summer to offload the attack-leader to the highest bidder.
Seems that is proving to be the case, but I do not envisage Rodgers or the Hoops hierarchy being sucked into a transfer tug-of-war for Idah at the end of the campaign.
ON THE RUN…Adam Idah surges into the attack in the Scottish Cup semi-final against Aberdeen.
They will surely have set their own evaluation on a player who has bags of potential, but is still something of a rough diamond. Work is required on his all-round play.
Cast your mind back to the summer of 2020 when Neil Lennon was desperate to bring in more firepower while transfer speculation continued to surround Odsonne Edouard.
The Hoops gaffer was pointed in the direction of West Ham and their frontman Albian Ajeti, who had failed to make an impact in London and Davie Moyes, who had inherited the Manuel Pellegrini purchase, was clearly eager to jettison the Swiss international.
He knocked back an original loan move from his old club and insisted on a permanent deal or nothing. Smart lad. Celtic eventually coughed up £5million for the misfiring forward who managed to score nine goals in two years before getting the heave.
Idah looks an entirely more viable proposition than Ajeti, but, unless he has a sensational end to the campaign, I doubt if the champions will pay Norwich’s reported minumum asking fee of £5million.
Once bitten etc…
ALEX GORDON
