Swansea City face new layer of regret in Adam Idah, Celtic deal - it's really bittersweet | OneFootball

Swansea City paid big money for Adam Idah on deadline day but Zan Vipotnik's form has seen the Irishman struggle for regular minutes

Swansea City's pursuit of a striker during the summer transfer window came to an end on deadline day after months of searching when they confirmed the signing of Adam Idah from Celtic for a reported £6million fee.

It was clear from the very beginning of the summer that signing a striker was a real priority for Swansea City and Alan Sheehan, and the club were linked with a host of names including Oli McBurnie and Richard Kone, who moved to Championship rivals Hull City and QPR respectively.

With time running out, Swansea forked out £6million to bring Idah to South Wales on deadline day, the club's biggest transfer fee since relegation from the Premier League in 2018, so naturally, expectations were high for the Irish international.

However, things haven't worked out for Idah quite yet, and while it's early days in his Swansea career, both the club and the player may start to wonder whether they made the correct decision.

Zan Vipotnik's fine form has come at the wrong time for Adam Idah

Zan Vipotnik endured a solid but far from spectacular debut season in south Wales after scoring seven goals in 44 Championship appearances, and it was clear that Swansea would need more from their strikers this time around if they were to improve on last year's 11th place finish.

However, Slovenian international Vipotnik has enjoyed an outstanding start to the new campaign, beating his goal tally from last season by the end of October with eight goals in 15 appearances, and this has meant Idah has usually been condemned to the bench.

There weren't too many supporters who expected Vipotnik to begin the season in this manner, and he's currently made it impossible for Sheehan to drop him, putting Idah in a difficult position.

The expectation was that any new striker signed in the summer would be coming in to be Swansea's first choice, but despite the hefty transfer fee paid for Idah, he's currently been limited to starts in the Carabao Cup and just one start in the Championship.

With Championship fixtures set to come thick and fast throughout November and December, Idah will certainly get the chance to start games, and he needs to find the back of the net on a regular basis if he's to have any chance of ousting Vipotnik.

The Irishman has scored just once for Swansea, scoring a penalty in a 3-1 defeat to Leicester City, and while it was important for Idah to get off the mark, supporters will demand more from a signing who cost £6million, huge money for Swansea's standards.

There's no doubting that the ex-Celtic man has been a victim of circumstance so far, with Vipotnik enjoying his best spell in a Swansea shirt, but Idah didn't move to south Wales to sit on the bench and will be desperate to string a run of starts together and score some goals to justify his price-tag.

Striker headache is a nice problem for Alan Sheehan to have

Last season Swansea lacked an out-and-out goalscorer, with Liam Cullen often being relied upon for goals, but Cullen has played a bit-part role this time around with the burden on Vipotnik and Idah.

The Swans have arguably gone from having no reliable striker option last season to having two this season, and this allows Sheehan to rotate, as he has done in the Carabao Cup, even against Premier League opposition like Nottingham Forest and Manchester City.

While it will undoubtedly be frustrating for Idah, having a £6million striker who has scored goals in the Champions League sitting on the bench is a sign of Swansea's depth this season, and it's a nice problem for Sheehan to have.

Had Swansea known Vipotnik was going to start the season in such fine form, it seems unlikely they would have spent £6million on Idah and there may well be some regret amongst the club's hierarchy that they parted with such a huge sum of money in hindsight.

However, it's done and Idah is a Swansea player, so he will be looking to repay the faith and start scoring goals. With trips to Charlton, Preston and a home game against Ipswich to come in the next week or so, now would be the perfect time to do so and begin to show why he was brought to the club.