"We cannot control" - Norwich City camp provide Adam Idah situation update amid Celtic advances | OneFootball

The Irishman has been linked with a return to Celtic Park after an impressive loan spell last season

Highlights

Johannes Hoff Thorup has seemingly quashed any talk of Adam Idah returning to Celtic during the summer transfer window.

The Canaries striker has been the subject of plenty of speculation surrounding a return to Glasgow this summer, following a promising loan spell with the Scottish Champions in the second-half of last season.

The forward netted nine times in 19 appearances for the Bhoys, including a dramatic 90th minute winner in the Scottish FA Cup final over arch-rivals Rangers in his final match north of the border.

But after getting his first run out for the Norfolk side in a pre-season friendly against Club Brugge this week, Thorup has underlined his plans to keep the Republic of Ireland international in his squad for the season ahead.

Johannes Hoff Thorup on Norwich City, Adam Idah situation amid Celtic interest

Idah was named in the starting lineup for the clash against the Belgian side on Tuesday evening, as he played the first half an hour, before being replaced by academy graduate Brad Hills.

The fact that the 23-year-old was getting minutes under his belt for the East Anglian outfit spoke volumes for how Thorup sees the player as part of his plans for the future, despite Brendan Rodgers desperately wanting to bring him back to Parkhead.

When asked about the situation regarding his striker after the match, the Dane was keen to stress that he likes what he sees, and will be doing what he can to keep him at the club this summer.

The 35-year-old said, via The Pink'Un YouTube channel: “We cannot control about the market, and which clubs will be interested in which players. We don't know. So let's not waste time on it.

“Me and Adam sit down quite often, so we have had some good conversations already. He's a good lad.

"He's working hard and he's funny as well. And he gives some energy to the group and, you know, definitely, we could also see what kind of striker that he is. And we will definitely also use him in the season.

“We consider Adam as an important player for us. Like I said earlier in the summer. So that's why he got this 30 minutes, which was important for him to get started, to get back in the rhythm, nice and easy.

“He had more or less only one full training week so that was also why we were pretty sure that it would only be half an hour.

“Then hopefully on Saturday (against Standard Liege) we can build him up to a little bit more, because I think from watching his qualities and what he can do he will be an important player for us.”

Norwich City and Celtic have had talks over Adam Idah transfer

According to the latest update from Football Scotland, Norwich City and Celtic have been in talks about a potential move for Idah throughout the summer.

The Scottish side are said to have submitted a bid for the Irishman, but City are holding out for a much bigger fee than the one they received, which could see the frontman return to the fold at Carrow Road.

Given Thorup’s latest comments, it looks as if the striker will be playing a part in the Canaries’ pre-season schedule, and could well be a key player once the Championship season gets underway next month.

The City boss spoke of Idah's performance on Tuesday: “We have to take into consideration that this was the first 30 minutes for him in a long while and that's also what we expect, that he will be better, but I think there were some signs of what we can get out of him.

“We gave him a couple of passes where he needed to chest control, hold it and give lay-offs for us to progress the game. I think he did well in that sense. We could have used him even more in the offensive part of our game, but that will come, and from what I see it is only a matter of time.”