Chris Sutton has come to the defence of Celtic’s decision to pay a potential club-record fee of £9.5 million for striker Adam Idah, a fee that has sparked varied reactions among the fans.

Given the pivotal role Idah played last season, scoring crucial goals including a memorable last-minute winner in the Scottish Cup final against Rangers, Sutton argues that the fee is justified in today’s inflated transfer market.

Reflecting on the evolution of transfer fees over time, Sutton said that the amount spent on Idah aligns with the financial landscape of modern football.

“Idah’s return is a major positive as well,” Sutton wrote in the Daily Record. 

“It’s funny seeing some fans complaining about the £9.5m fee after demanding the Parkhead board open the purse strings all summer.

“I don’t think it’s a lot of money in the grand scheme of things. If you think back to 2000, the deals for the likes of myself, Neil Lennon and John Hartson would be worth about £13m when you consider inflation. If you look at football inflation, I’d cost about £150m these days!

“The money paid for Idah is just the market right now. Ipswich Town are shelling out up to £11m to Blackburn Rovers for Idah’s Ireland teammate Sammie Szmodics. Idah is younger and has more potential – and you have to think it would flourish under a manager like Rodgers, who is renowned for developing players.”

On Friday, Brendan Rodgers laughed off the debate, saying the club simply couldn’t win. If they hadn’t got Idah, there would have been uproar but because they had to push the boat out and get him, there has been uproar.

When you look at Idah’s contributions last season, his goals will easily cover his fee. If it wasn’t for him hitting the back of the net in some key games that he did, Celtic would probably be playing Champions League qualifiers just now.