Ex-Republic of Ireland boss Stephen Kenny explains why Adam Idah is pivotal for Celtic

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.

Brian Dempsey to speak out on Fergus McCann’s Celtic takeover

Brian Dempsey has joined the cast list at The Celtic Exchange to share his views on the 30th anniversary of Fergus McCann’s takeover of Celtic.

Then in his forties, the Glasgow based property developer had been appointed to the Celtic board in 1990 but when it came to the AGM to ratify his appointment Michael Kelly and Chris White ensured that his place wasn’t confirmed.

As Celtic’s fortunes nose-dived on the park with debt creeping dangerously high others started to look at ways to replace the Kelly and White dynasty that had been in control of Celtic since the early days of the century.

The charismatic Dempsey formed an alliance with McCann, most of the media commentary came from Dempsey who stood on the steps of Celtic Park to declare that the rebels had won.

The alliance between the two men never survived very long, both have different versions of events with Dempsey fairly critical of some of the decisions taken by McCann as he forged a new business model with 51% of the club shares.

During international week the content from The Celtic Exchange has been priceless. A traditional documentary would only have skimmed the surface but with six, so far, hour long interviews most of the main characters have been able to share their stories, recollections and reflections leaving the viewer with a fuller picture of the most turbulent times in Celtic’s history.