Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers praises Adam Idah

Brendan Rodgers

Brendan Rodgers Credit: Michael P Ryan (ETPhotos)

The Antrim man was speaking ahead of facing Hibernian’s on Wednesday night in his pre-match conference. 

Idah made his debut last weekend where Celtic drew 1-1 against managerless Aberdeen. While the performance on the day was poor, the Republic of Ireland international was a positive on an otherwise bleak afternoon. 

The 22-year-old came off the bench and made an instant impact to grab an assist, as he laid on the equaliser for Nicolas Kühn to salvage a draw at Pittodrie. 

The Corkman was a deadline day signing, arriving on loan until the end of the season from Norwich City.

Idah has been a lightning bolt for criticism online due to the frustrations of Bhoys fans over the club’s lack of transfer activity last month by the current board.

Speaking to the press on Tuesday, Rodgers spoke highly of Idah, calling him an incredible talent. 

“Adam, I’m really excited about having seen him play and now seeing him for a few days, working with him and speaking with him.

“The ability he has is incredible, really; he has every tool that you want to play at the highest level. He’s obviously doing that internationally, and it’s been a wee bit hit-and-miss for him at Norwich.

“But when I assess him, and we see him in training, we see the finishing; we see the speed, we see the touch; I’m excited by what he can bring us over these next remaining months.”



When asked if Idah is ready to make his first start for the club on Wednesday night, Rodgers was confident his new number nine can hit the ground running.  

"Oh yes, there’s no doubt. The thing is he’s got 20 odd games behind him this season before coming to us. So he’s game ready and fit and ready to play. 

“If I can unlock the talent, he has then this is a boy that can be a top-level striker. He’s not just a boy where, even if you max out everything, he can only get to a certain level. 

"This is everything - this is 6ft 2in, power, speed. So, once he finds the relationships with the other players and the runs - and we’ll play to his strengths because he wants to run in behind - then he’s going to be a real handful. 

"Then working with him on the training pitch and seeing his finishing yesterday - left foot, right foot, spin, strike - he was absolutely brilliant”. 

Idah before signing for Celtic had made 34 appearances this season, scoring 7 goals for the Canaries. 



About Luke Jordan

Luke joined the extratime.com team in 2022 and is the current host of the extratime.com podcast.

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