Idah upgrade: Celtic set to make offer for "incredibly prolific" £5m star
da pinup bet： There is less than a week left to go in the summer transfer window and this means that Celtic need to start ramping up their business if they want to avoid missing out on key targets.
da premier bet： The Hoops are reportedly doing exactly that, as they are said to be closing in on two new additions to the squad on the left flank for Brendan Rodgers.
Sky Sports recently reported that the Scottish Premiership giants have agreed a £5m deal with Royal Antwerp for winger Michel-Ange Balikwisha to bolster the manager’s options on the wing.
The Belgian whiz is not the only incoming signing on the left flank, though, as Anthony Joseph claims that the club have agreed a deal to sign left-back Marcelo Saracchi on loan from Boca Juniors.
However, journalist Stephen McGowan has revealed that there is even more to come from Celtic, who want to sign another striker to compete at the top end of the pitch.
This means that current Hoops number nine Adam Idah could be in danger of losing his place in the starting XI beyond the end of the current transfer window.
Why Adam Idah's place in the XI is in danger
The Scottish giants splashed the cash last summer when the board sanctioned a deal worth up to £9.5m to sign the Ireland international on a permanent move from Norwich City.
Idah has yet to justify that significant outlay from the Hoops, though, because he has failed to establish himself as a player who can start week-in-week-out as the main number nine.
The 24-year-old centre-forward scored 20 goals in all competitions in the 2024/25 campaign, which is far from a horrendous return at face value.
However, Idah was often more impactful when coming off the bench to make an impact as a substitute against tired defences, than as a starter ahead of Kyogo Furuhashi or Daizen Maeda, particularly in the Premiership.
Adam Idah: The super sub
24/25 Premiership
Starts
Off the bench
Appearances
19
16
Minutes
1,352
357
Goals
6
7
Minutes per goal
225
51
Assists
0
1
Stats via Transfermarkt
As you can see in the table above, the Irish forward scored more goals in roughly 1,000 fewer minutes as a substitute than he did as a starter in the league last season.
Unfortunately, Idah’s performances in the Premiership at the start of the current campaign do not suggest that he has gotten over those issues and is now ready to be the main man for the Hoops.
The former Norwich star, as shown in the graphic above, missed three ‘big chances’ and failed to score against St Mirren on the opening day. He then failed to score or assist a goal in the 2-0 win over Aberdeen as a starter in his most recent league outing.
Celtic preparing move for new striker
With Idah’s poor form as a starter last season and at the start of this term, supporters may be pleased to learn that the club are looking to sign a new marksman.
Transfer Focus
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
According to Football Insider, Celtic are interested in a deal to sign Lorient centre-forward Sambou Soumano before the end of the summer transfer window.
The report claims that the Scottish giants are preparing to make a formal offer to bring the Senegalese number nine to Parkhead before next Monday’s deadline.
It states that they have already registered their interest in the 24-year-old marksman, and that a formal approach is now expected in the coming days.
Meanwhile, journalist Alan Nixon, via his Patreon, claims that English Championship side Blackburn Rovers are already in talks with Lorient, who want £5m for their star forward, which means that Celtic may have to move quickly to get a deal done for Soumano.
Why Celtic should sign Sambou Soumano
The Premiership champions should be pushing for a deal to get done for the Ligue 1 marksman because he is an exciting talent who could come in as an upgrade on Idah for Rodgers in the number nine position.
The Lorient attacker caught the eye with his performances for the French side in the second tier last season, helping them to earn promotion back up to Ligue 1 with his goalscoring exploits.
Soumano provided a lethal presence in the centre-forward position in Ligue 2 by finishing the chances that came his way in front of goal at an impressively high conversion rate of 33%, per Sofascore.
24/25 season
Soumano (Ligue 2)
Idah (Premiership)
Appearances
32
35
Goals
14
13
Big chances missed
6
19
Minutes per goal
92
131
Conversion rate
33%
17%
Assists
3
0
Duels won per game
2.4
1.6
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, Soumano scored more goals and missed 13 fewer ‘big chances’ at league level in comparison to Idah in the 2024/25 campaign.
This suggests that the Senegalese striker, who was once dubbed “incredibly prolific” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, is significantly better than the Celtic man when it comes to putting the ball in the back of the net with the chances that he gets, which is the most important attribute a striker can have.
As you can see in the clip above, the £5m-rated marksman has also made a fast start to life in Ligue 1. He showed incredible composure to score a brilliant goal in a 4-0 win for Lorient against Rennes on Sunday.
This shows that he can also make an impact in a major European league, rather than his talents being confined to the second division, and that he could step up against high-quality opposition for Celtic.
With this in mind, Celtic should be looking to beat Blackburn to Soumano’s signature before the deadline on Monday because he has the track record in front of goal, at a decent level, to suggest that he could be an upgrade on Idah in the number nine position.
His arrival at Parkhead would also allow the Ireland international to go back to his role as an impact substitute, which the statistics suggest is his most effective role for the Scottish giants.
