Celtic kicked off their Scottish Premiership marketing campaign with a 1-0 win over St Mirren at Parkhead, due to a late aim from substitute Luke McCowan.
The Scottish central midfielder got here off the bench to attain from the sting of the field, through a lucky deflection, to safe all three factors for the house facet.
After the match, Brendan Rodgers revealed that he nonetheless needs extra signings to return by the door earlier than the summer time switch window slams shut at the beginning of September, significantly within the attacking division.
The Northern Irish boss mentioned: “It’s nearly enhancing. There’s areas that we wish to enhance within the ahead line. That’s one thing that we hope we are able to do over these remaining weeks.”
Adam Idah began the win over St Mirren as Celtic’s quantity 9 and did not do sufficient to counsel that he’s set for a prolific season as a daily starter for the Hoops.
The Scottish giants reportedly agreed a deal value as much as £9.5m to signal the striker on a everlasting deal from Norwich Metropolis final summer time, however he has but to nail down a place within the XI.
Why Celtic must signal one other striker
Rodgers confirmed that the membership are going to be dipping into the market to bolster their attacking choices within the coming weeks, and a brand new quantity 9 must be on the agenda for the Premiership champions.
Idah has, sadly, did not show that he has the standard or consistency to ship as the primary quantity 9 for Celtic, based mostly on his kind over the previous 12 months or so.
Because the begin of final season, the Eire worldwide has scored 13 objectives from 14.66 xG within the Premiership for the Hoops. This reveals that he has not been scientific in entrance of aim and has wasted too many high-quality alternatives within the league.
The closest Idah got here to discovering the again of the online in opposition to St Mirren was within the clip above, when he introduced down a cross from Liam Scales and rocketed a shot off the submit from shut vary.
Vs St Mirren | Adam Idah |
|---|---|
Photographs | 4 |
xG | 1.09 |
Objectives | 0 |
xA | 0.05 |
Assists | 0 |
Duel success fee | 42.9% |
Go accuracy | 63.6% |
Stats through FotMob | |
As you’ll be able to see within the desk above, the £9.5m signing failed to attain from 1.09 xG value of probabilities and 4 pictures, while he additionally created nearly nothing for his teammates.
The 24-year-old centre-forward was changed by Johnny Kenny within the 78th minute, earlier than Celtic broke the impasse 9 minutes later by McCowan.
Due to the shortage of high quality that Idah has offered, persistently, on the pitch, Rodgers must be seeking to discover an improve on him earlier than the window slams shut.
Final month, TEAMtalk reported that the Hoops are eyeing up a possible swoop for Wycombe Wanderers centre-forward Richard Kone, who’s valued at £7m by the English facet, this summer time.
Why Celtic ought to signal Richard Kone
The Premiership champions ought to push to win the race for the £7m-rated star earlier than the top of the month as a result of he might are available in as an enormous improve on Idah.
Kone is a younger and hungry ahead who might comply with in Gary Hooper’s footsteps by making the transfer from the decrease leagues in England to shine at Parkhead for the Hoops.
The most important concern with Idah is that he doesn’t end probabilities effectively, as evidenced by his aforementioned xG underperformance, however that will not be a difficulty for the Wycombe star if he makes the transfer to Glasgow within the coming weeks.
Kone, who scored three objectives in three video games in pre-season for Wycombe, loved a surprising 2024/25 marketing campaign within the third tier of English soccer, and his kind final time period means that the potential is there for him to be a implausible signing for Celtic.
The Ivorian marksman had solely scored three objectives in 17 matches in League One within the 2023/24 marketing campaign for the Choir Boys, earlier than he hit his stride in his second season at first-team stage.
Kone, as proven within the submit above, gained the League One Participant and Younger Participant of the Season awards on the finish of the marketing campaign, which speaks to how spectacular he was on the high finish of the pitch.
The Hoops goal ended the season with a return of 18 objectives and three assists in 43 appearances in League One for Wycombe, albeit it was not sufficient to assist them earn promotion again to the Championship.
24/25 League One | Richard Kone | Percentile rank vs STs |
|---|---|---|
xG | 15.89 | Prime 7% |
Objectives | 18 | Prime 7% |
Photographs on track | 40 | Prime 8% |
xA | 3.33 | Prime 8% |
Assists | 3 | Prime 32% |
Touches within the opposition field | 243 | Prime 1% |
Profitable dribbles | 44 | Prime 6% |
Stats through FotMob | ||
As you’ll be able to see within the desk above, the 22-year-old expertise was ruthless in entrance of aim for his facet, outperforming his xG by simply over two objectives within the league, and ranked extremely as a creator and a dribbler for his facet.
Former teammate Joe Jacobson described him as a “aim machine” and it’s not laborious to see why his teammates held him in such excessive regard, as he was deadly for Wycombe in League One final time period.
Kone might arrive at Parkhead as an enormous improve on Idah as one other towering, however cell, centre-forward, however one who can end probabilities with effectivity.
The £7m-rated star might benefit from the high-quality probabilities that Celtic are capable of create for his or her quantity 9 frequently, while Idah has but to show that he can try this.
Subsequently, Rodgers must be pushing the membership to strike a deal to deliver Kone over to Glasgow as quickly as attainable, as he has the standard, as a scorer and a creator, to return in as an improve on his present quantity 9.
