John Hartson questions £9.5m Celtic agreement with Norwich City

John Hartson has questioned the decision to permanently sign Adam Idah from Norwich City last summer.

During his six-month loan at Parkhead the previous season, the Ireland international scored eight goals in 15 league games (all numbers courtesy of Fbref).

According to Sky Sports, this prompted the Scottish powerhouses to pursue a permanent move, and in the end, an agreement worth £9.5 million was reached.

Only two of the team’s first eight league games this season have seen the 23-year-old start, and he has also appeared on the bench four times.

Idah scored in one of his two Champions League games this season, but he only has one league goal to his credit.John Hartson questions Norwich City agreement

Hartson has expressed worries over Idah’s permanent start at the club and questioned the £9 million paid to sign him from Norwich

last summer.

He feels Celtic could have used that money more wisely, but he hasn’t been too critical of the player.

Hartson told Go Radio, “I have to be honest with you, I don’t know how many were on Celtic’s shopping list.”

However, they chose Adam Idah.

“I think we all got, not sucked in, but we were all impressed last season.

“I think it was 19 appearances, a lot of them were off the bench, delighted that he scored the winning goal in the cup final against

Rangers.

“He hasn’t hit the ground running.

“One of the reasons is that it’s very hard to dislodge Kyogo [Furuhashi].

“Sometimes when you feel that you are next man in and not the number one striker, it can give you that lack of confidence and you are

thinking ‘the manager isn’t putting me in this week’, in terms of being the main number nine.

“I think sometimes that can halt your confidence.

“I am not going to criticise him too much, but I am not sure who else Celtic had their eye on last season. He cost £9 million.

“A lot of the fans might just say well. ‘Could we have got a better one?’ One of the reasons why Celtic took him is because he did so well on loan.

“He seemed the obvious one.”

Adam Idah’s Norwich City stint

Idah made his debut for the Canaries in August 2019 after breaking into senior football at Norwich and joining their academy system

in 2017.

He was sent on loan to Celtic last January, though, since he was never able to establish himself as a major player at Carrow Road.

During his tenure with the club, he made 100 league appearances and scored 12 goals for the Norfolk team.

Idah’s Celtic contract is set to expire in the summer of 2029.

Norwich cashed in on Idah at the exact right time

Idah was never able to prove himself as a key part of the Norwich first team squad, so the club did well to cash in on him last summer

for such a good fee.

That £9.5 million looks even better now in the context of Idah’s current struggles for game time in Glasgow.

While he’s clearly a talented forward with plenty of potential, it was difficult to see him fulfilling that potential by staying at Carrow

Road.

The loan stint at Celtic last year showed what he can do, but Brendan Rodgers’ side have been unable to get the best out of him since

making the permanent switch so far.

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