At the start of the calendar year, Celtic had Adam Idah, Johnny Kenny, Kyogo Furuhashi, and Daizen Maeda on their books as options in the number nine position.
Kyogo, of course, left to sign for Rennes in the January transfer window, and Kenny is still a young player who needs time to develop and improve before he is a frontline option.
Earlier this month, Brendan Rodgers said: “I think it’s very clear. We need to improve in the front end of the pitch. The attacking department has always, and always will be, the strengths of my teams. We’ve lost important players in that area, and we need to replace players in that area.”
The Celtic head coach is now set to lose another option in that centre-forward role, as Anthony Joseph reports that Idah is closing in on a permanent move to Swansea.
He is set to undergo a medical in Wales on Friday before putting the finishing touches on a move to the EFL Championship side before the end of the summer transfer window on Monday.
The Ireland international’s exit will leave Celtic with Kenny and Shin Yamada as their only natural striker options, whilst Maeda can, of course, play there.
Celtic have had a nightmare with Adam Idah
It is hard not to feel that the Scottish giants have had a nightmare with the Irish centre-forward, who they only signed from Norwich City on a permanent deal last summer.
The club reportedly paid an initial fee of £8.5m, which could have gone up to £9.5m, and Swansea have now agreed a deal that is worth up to £7m for the 6 foot 3 attacker.
This means that the Scottish Premiership champions have made a loss of at least £1.5m on Idah just 12 months on from signing him from the Canaries, which is hard to defend from a recruitment perspective.
The number nine had his moments in a Celtic shirt, as shown by the clip above, but he was nowhere near reliable enough as a starting option for Rodgers.
Appearances
19
16
Minutes
1,352
357
Goals
6
7
Minutes per goal
225
51
Assists
0
1
As you can see in the table above, Idah only scored six goals in 19 matches in the Premiership for the Scottish giants in his only full season at the club.
This may be one of the reasons why the club decided to sanction a permanent transfer to Swansea after just one year, because he failed to prove that he could deliver consistently as a starter.
Ultimately, Rodgers could not trust him to start week-in-week-out and they may have expected more from a player they were willing to spend up to £9.5m in 2024.
Celtic prepare offer for new striker
According to Sky Sports reporter Anthony Joseph, Celtic are considering a last-gasp offer to sign Anderlecht centre-forward Kasper Dolberg in an attempt to replace Idah.
The journalist claims that the Denmark international is the club’s number one target to fill the soon-to-be vacant number nine shirt at Parkhead.
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Joseph also reveals that the Hoops are in talks with Anderlecht over a move for the experienced marksman, as they look to bring him in before the deadline on Monday.
He adds that the Scottish giants were quoted a fee of around £10m for the forward earlier this summer, but it remains to be seen if that is still the case.
The journalist claims that Anderlecht are open to cashing in on the former Ajax and Nice star after they were knocked out of Europe by losing 3-1 to AEK on aggregate, which has presented Celtic with the opportunity to swoop in now that Idah is on his way out of the club.
Why Celtic should sign Kasper Dolberg
The board should be pushing to get a deal for the Pro League forward over the line before the deadline on Monday because he could arrive as a big upgrade on Idah in the number nine position.
As aforementioned, the £9.5m signing from Norwich simply did not do enough when given chances as a starting striker for Celtic to be relied upon as the main man for goals.
Dolberg, however, is a player who could be that main man as an experienced and top-quality number nine who can find the back of the net on a regular basis.
The Anderlecht marksman has already scored three goals in five games at the start of the current campaign, per Sofascore, but it was his form last season that shows how much of an upgrade he would be on Idah.
Appearances (starts)
31 (30)
35 (19)
xG
16.70
N/A
Goals
18
13
Conversion rate
22%
17%
Goals from outside the box
3
2
Assists
2
0
Duel success rate
50%
41%
As you can see in the table above, Dolberg can score goals at an impressive rate whilst starting week-in-week-out for his side, which is something that Idah failed to do.
The Danish attacker, who was once hailed as an “extraordinary talent” by John Steen Olsen, also enjoyed a greater conversion rate in front of goal and won more of his physical duels with opposition defenders.
These statistics suggest that Dolberg could offer far more to the team as a regular starter than Idah did, certainly in the Premiership, as a lethal centre-forward who can finish chances efficiently, as shown by his goal return versus his xG.
At the age of 27, Celtic would also be signing a player who is in the prime years of his career and can be expected to hit the ground running as an instant and reliable performer, rather than coming in as a young and unproven talent who would need time to adjust and develop.
Therefore, Dolberg could be a fantastic addition to the squad as a big upgrade on Idah as a starter if they can get the deal over the line in the coming days.