Adam Idah has all the attributes to lead the line for Celtic

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The Celtic Star

·16 luglio 2025

Adam Idah has all the attributes to lead the line for Celtic

Celtic striker Adam Idah is currently going through his paces at Celtic’s pre-season training camp in Lisbon and is likely to lead the line for Brendan Rodgers’ side in this evening’s friendly, the fourth so far this summer, against Portuguese Champions Sporting at the Estádio do Algarve. The match is live on Celtic TV for subscribers.

Adam Idah celebrates scoring at Ibrox to level the score at 1-1. theRangers v Celtic, 4 May 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

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It’s an unusual situation in that this is Idah’s third season as a Celtic player yet it’s actually his first ever pre-season. The Irish international striker joined the Hoops on loan from English Championship side Norwich City at the end of the January 2024 transfer window and made a significant contribution to a brilliant Scottish Premiership and Scottish Cup Final double.

The perfect angle of Adam Idah's winning goal in the Scottish Cup Final ⚽ a brilliant view of the sevco fans. Oh the misery 😄😆😄😆👌 🍀
– domenica 9 giugno 2024

Indeed it was in that final at Hampden against arch-rivals theRangers that Idah’s status was elevated among the Celtic support after he scored a wonderful winner in the 90th minute to send the green an white masses delirious with joy, like they’d just received their new no deposit casino bonus codes, or along those lines anyway.

Adam Idah scores the winner for Celtic in the 2024 Scottish Cup Final against theRangers at Hampden. Photo Vagelis Georgariou for The Celtic Star

Yet Idah spent his summer waiting for news as a transfer talks rumbled on throughout the summer of 2024. By the time it was all sorted an Celtic appeared to have had to overpay to get their man, Idah had missed his pre-season and was playing catch-up in terms of fitness with his teammates, all with the new burden of a £9.5m transfer fee hanging around his broad shoulders.

Jack Butland after Adam Idah scored the winner for Celtic in the 2024 Scottish Cup Final against theRangers at Hampden. Photo Vagelis Georgariou for The Celtic Star

So this summer, Idah gets his chance to work with the Celtic squad over the summer pre-season to get himself match ready for the big kick-off at the beginning of August which all starts with St Mirren coming to Celtic Park on Flag Day as Celtic supporters celebrate last season’s title one more time before turning our attention to defending it in the new campaign.

Adam Idah holds the Scottish Cupi after the 2024 Scottish Cup Final win over theRangers at Hampden. Photo Vagelis Georgariou for The Celtic Star

Adam Idah on aiming higher after a strong season: “Yeah, 100 per cent. The more minutes I play, the more goals I’m going to score, it’s a fact… I scored 20 goals with the minutes I played… I’m confident enough in myself that I can get to,” Daily Record.

Let’s have a closer look at Adam Idah’s stats as a Celtic player so far…

Season 2023/24: (on loan from Norwich City) from end January to end May. Appearances: 19. Goals: 9

Season 2024/25: (after completing a £9.5m transfer to Celtic from Norwich) Appearances: 53 (across all competitions). Goals: 20 (including three in UCL).

Total so far…Appearances 72. Goals 29 (remember many of his appearances have come after coming off the bench).

Adam Idah scores at Rugby Park as Celtic wrap up the title. Photo Vagelis Georgariou for The Celtic Star

On stepping out from the shadows of former strikers: “I’ve got big boots to fill… now it’s up to me… it’s great motivation, I just want to keep the spot now and keep going.” The Celtic Star

Adam Idah on Instagram

On consistency and becoming a leading striker: “The big games are great to score in, but I want to be consistent now… I want to be the striker who plays every game and scores every game, every second game.”

Adam Idah clearly views 2024/25 as a breakthrough and is targeting further progress this season…

He’s aiming for 30 goals in 2025/26, underlined by the confidence that “more minutes = more goals.”
He wants to seize the #9 shirt, filling the void left by Kyogo and cement his role.
His focus is on consistent performance—scoring in most matches, not just the big ones.

Of special interest too Brendan Rodgers is Adam Idah’s decent record in his first season playing in the Champions League where he scored three goals to Kyogo’s none.

From FBref: played 341 minutes across UCL matches and contributed 3 personal goals + 1 own-goal effect .

Effective goals (incl. forced own goal): 4
Minutes per goal = 341 ÷ 4 ≈ 85 minutes per effective goal

Even counting only his four personal goals, that’s 113 minutes/goal, which is strong for the Champions League stage…

Adam Idah celebrates. UEFA Champions League match between Celtic FC and SK Slovan Bratislava at Celtic Park on September 18, 2024. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

UEFA Champions League 2024 2025, Celtic Glasgow vs Young Boys Bern YB Celtic Park. Adam Idah forces the own goal. Celtic’s 1- 0 victory. Photo JOERAN STEINSIEK (IMAGO)

Some strikers might be able to score against Livingston and Falkirk but find the Champions League ‘a bridge too far’. For Idah rather unusually it’s the other way about. If he can sort that then he’s got every chance of leading the line for Celtic this season as the first pick number 9.

Adam Idah scores Celtic’s first goal during the UEFA Champions League match between Aston Villa and Celtic at Villa Park on January 29, 2025 (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

Adam Idah scores Celtic’s second goal past Emiliano Martinez of Aston Villa during the UEFA Champions League match between Aston Villa and Celtic at Villa Park on January 29, 2025. (Photo by Dan Mullan/Getty Images)