Celtic will be competing in the quarter-final of the League Cup later this year after they beat Scottish Premiership rivals Hibernian 3-1 at Parkhead on Sunday.
The Hoops had already beaten their cup opponents in the top-flight the previous weekend at Easter Road, with goals from Nicolas Kuhn and Callum McGregor securing the win.
Daizen Maeda was tasked with leading the line in the League Cup tie on Sunday and struck twice inside the opening 20 minutes to put his side 2-0 up, before Kuhn scored against them for the second time in as many games to make it 2-0.
One good moment from the second half was the reception the Parkhead crowd gave Adam Idah when the striker came on as a substitute to make his second debut for the club.
The Ireland international recently joined the Bhoys on a permanent deal from Norwich City for a reported fee of £8.5m with a further £1m in add-ons.
He did not get himself a goal in that cameo but it was a little run-out to re-introduce himself to the crowd after his loan spell in Glasgow during the second half of the 2023/24 campaign.
It is fair to say that Idah did not arrive at Celtic to much fanfare when the club announced his arrival on a loan from the Canaries at the end of the winter transfer window earlier this year.
The 23-year-old attacker had only scored 17 goals and provided four assists in 115 appearances for Norwich as a centre-forward, which may not have filled supporters with bounds of excitement.
However, you should never judge a player before they have played for their new team and Idah quickly showed that his goalscoring record with the Yellows may have been more to do with his situation there, being behind Teemu Pukki and then Josh Sargent in the pecking order, rather than his quality.
The 6 foot 3 marksman produced an assist on his debut as a substitute against Aberdeen, teeing up Kuhn for an equaliser in a 1-1 draw, and then scored twice in a 2-1 win over Hibernian on his full debut in the next match.
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23/24 Premiership
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Adam Idah
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Appearances
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15
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Starts
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5
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Goals
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8
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Big chances missed
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7
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Conversion rate
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27%
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Minutes per goal
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76
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Stats via Sofascore
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As you can see in the table above, Idah went on to rack up eight goals in 15 appearances in the Premiership, despite only starting five of those games.
The Irish forward proved that he can find the back of the net on a regular basis in the Scottish top-flight, using his physicality, his movement, and his quality in front of goal to be a constant threat to opposition defences.
Idah also popped up in big moments for the club with a goal in a 3-3 draw with Rangers and a 90th-minute winner in the League Cup final against the Gers at Hampden Park.
Hopefully, the Norwich academy graduate will now enjoy a successful time at the club on a permanent basis and Brendan Rodgers could make a dream signing for Idah by swooping for one of Celtic's reported transfer targets.
Celtic's interest in MLS magician
Earlier this month, Sky Sports journalist Anthony Joseph claimed that the Hoops have Philadelphia Union central midfielder Daniel Gazdag on their radar.
The reporter claimed that the Bhoys have a list of targets to improve their midfield options, potentially to replace Matt O'Riley if he moves on before the end of the month, and the MLS star was one of three named.
Southampton's Shea Charles and Venezia's Tanner Tessmann are the other two players who are said to be on the shortlist alongside Gazdag.
The summer transfer window slams shut at the end of this month and this means that the Scottish giants have less than two weeks to get a deal done for a new midfielder.
Sky Sports went on to post an update on Celtic's pursuit of Gazdag, as they revealed that Turkish side Trabzonspor have held talks over a potential swoop for the Hungary international.
The outlet added that it would also take an offer in the region of £10m to tempt Union into parting ways with the midfield magician this summer.
Why Daniel Gazdag would be a dream for Adam Idah
The 28-year-old star would be a dream for Idah at Parkhead because he is a quality midfielder who can create chances for his teammates whilst also providing a goal threat.
Gazdag produced 1.4 key passes per game and created four 'big chances' in 19 starts in the MLS this year, having made 1.7 key passes per match and assisted six goals in 35 outings in 2023.
His creativity has been on show in the Leagues Cup over the last month or so, with three assists – and one goal – in five appearances in the competition.
These statistics show that the right-footed whiz has the quality to be an excellent provider from the middle of the park, which means that he could create plenty of chances for Idah to find the back of the net at Parkhead this season.
Another reason why Gazdag would be a dream signing for the Irishman is that he is a terrific goalscorer from midfield, and that could take a lot of the pressure off the striker to be a consistent scorer – particularly in his first full year at the club when patience may be required.
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Daniel Gazdag
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2023 MLS
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2024 MLS
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Appearances
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35
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21
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xG
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14.68
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13.07
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Goals
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15
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14
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xA
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6.32
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2.66
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Stats via Sofascore
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As you can see in the table above, the Hungarian maestro has fired in an eye-catching 29 goals in 56 appearances in the MLS since the start of 2023, from a central midfield position.
This shows that the Union star, who was described as being "invisible" in the way he ghosts into goalscoring positions by manager Jim Curtin, can provide a huge threat in the final third for the Hoops if he can translate that form over to Scotland.
Therefore, Gazdag would be a dream signing for Idah due to the creativity he could bring to the table to create chances for the striker, as well as the pressure the £10m-rated ace could take off the forward with his goalscoring quality.
Forget about Maeda: Celtic's 9/10 magician was the real hero vs Hibs
The Hoops attacker enjoyed a terrific afternoon at Parkhead in the League Cup.
By
Dan Emery
Aug 18, 2024