Brendan Rodgers has thrown his full support behind Adam Idah, as scrutiny continues to mount over the striker’s form following his £9.5 million permanent move to Celtic.
The Irish international, who joined from Norwich City in the summer, has faced criticism for not consistently hitting the net in a team used to prolific forwards. However, Rodgers insists the narrative around Idah is distorted by the weight of his price tag.
He had a great six months on loan with the Hoops, scoring some big goals and some big games, and in the summer, Celtic fans were desperate to see him return permanently. With no option to buy included in the loan deal, Celtic had to dig out more than what they were probably prepared to.
“I think in terms of Adam in all fairness, I think if you take away, I think there’s a lot of look on his price tag, isn’t there?,” Rodgers told CeltsAreHere. “So everyone’s judging on the price tag.
“If you actually take away the minutes and look at the minutes he’s played and the goals he’s scored, his actual ratio is very good. So what do you get in both? So from a tactical level you get him who can be the platform. Listen, I say a striker’s playing the space.
“I also want that we score. It’s not play the space and have three goals. It’s play the space and if you can get 40 goals, brilliant.
“And you’ll have the chance to do it. It’s knowing that at times whenever you’ve got to come short to create space or whether you’ve got to run in behind. So I think when you’re playing against high-pressing teams, you have to play a lot of forward passes, a lot of vertical balls and knowing that it’s not always going to be perfect and also playing against man-to-man.
“So he can give you that reference point and when he’s big and strong and take the ball in, he can be unplayable.”
Idah is currently averaging a goal every 123 minutes, including three in the Champions League – a return Rodgers believes is being overlooked.
With Jota ruled out for up to nine months, Idah now appears set to lead the line in Celtic’s remaining matches, including Sunday’s Glasgow Derby at Ibrox. Having scored twice in the title-clinching rout at Tannadice, the striker is showing signs of hitting form at the right time.
With silverware still to play for, the Celtic boss is backing his man to deliver.
