“It can be tough, you get a lot of hate,” Adam Idah reflects on his time at Celtic | OneFootball

Adam Idah’s loan spell at Celtic was clearly a success, scoring vital goals in a tight title battle against theRangers after arriving late in the January 2024 transfer window from Norwich City…

Adam Idah of Republic of Ireland celebrates scoring his team’s second goal with teammate Kasey McAteer during the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier match between Republic of Ireland and Hungary at on September 06, 2025 in Dublin, Ireland. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

Crucially Celtic failed to secure an option to buy in the deal with the English Championship side where Idah was third choice striker with valuation of £3m. It’s unclear whether Brendan Rodgers wanted to but the player at that time or not.

Idah, more so Nicolas Kuhn who arrived at the same time, with Celtic paying £3m to Rapid Vienna for the winger, played a significant part in Celtic’s title triumph with key goals, including one at Ibrox.

Adam Idah of Republic of Ireland celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier match between Republic of Ireland and Hungary on September 06, 2025 in Dublin, Ireland. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

Adam also came off the bench in the Scottish Cup final to score that dramatic 90th minute winner against theRangers. The Bhoy was a Celtic hero and there was no-one who had much to say about any weaknesses in his game.

Norwich City clearly were watching and when Celtic arrived with a modest valuation that was dismissed and a new price was set, around three times the price Celtic could have paid in January. That was not Adam Idah’s fault.

Eventually he was signed for around £8m plus a sell-on clause, giving the Carrow Road side a share of the profits Celtic would make on any future transfer. That turned out to be nothing at all. Idah missed the pre-season and fell back into his role as the Kyogo back-up. By this time Celtic were well aware that Kyogo wanted to leave, so they had plenty of notice that a replacement was needed.

Adam Idah of Republic of Ireland celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier match between Republic of Ireland and Hungary on September 06, 2025 in Dublin, Ireland. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

Idah scores 20 goals in his one and only full season at Celtic, mostly coming from the bench. Curiously he always seemed to do better as a substitute rather than a starter and with Kyogo going to be away this perhaps should have been a more significant consideration as Celtic looked to the transfer market to replace the Japanese goalscorer.

Idah continued to score and had a decent record in the Champions League, memorably of course those two goals at Villa Park at the end of January.

Had Celtic signed a like-for-like replacement for Kyogo then perhaps things would have been different but instead the over inflated price paid to Norwich – the fault of the club, not the player or the manager – meant that the £8m striker was the de facto Kyogo replacement, a call to suit the bank balance from the money-men rather than the squad balance from the football men.

Adam Idah of Republic of Ireland celebrates scoring his team’s second goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifier match between Republic of Ireland and Hungary at September 06, 2025 in Dublin, Ireland. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

That curious issue of Adam Idah being much more effective from the bench rather than as a starting centre forward would turn into a real problem. After Celtic’s Champions League campaign came to an end in Munich in March, and with the title looking like a formality, Celtic’s form dipped. Kuhn, had enjoyed an excellent season but wanted away, Celtic had dropped down the gears but looked to be cruising to the title and the Scottish Cup to win another treble.

They got over the line in the league in April but by the end of May the tank was empty and the Scottish Cup final was thrown away, a match that should have been a warning for Kairat and the Champions League play-off two months later.

Adam Idah’s form had dipped as had so many others in the team and for some reason he became the whipping boy for the Celtic support, alongside another young summer signing Arne Engels. By pre-season, Idah’s only one as a Celtic player, his confidence looked completely shot and it was no surprise that when an offer came in for him from Swansea, he was keen to leave.

Speaking to Sky Sports during the international break Idah takes up the story.

“I think there have been so many games where I’ve won them games and got them qualified for things, the finals. It probably goes unnoticed.

“It can be tough, you get a lot of hate. You might have a bad game and it’s torture. It’s a difficult place up there. But flip it the other way, you’re doing well and it’s the best place ever.

“I think that’s what it’s going to be like at any top club. You’ve just got to deal with that.

“Celtic is one of the biggest clubs in the world. It’s a really proud moment for me, playing for them. Having done my time there, I’ve had some great memories. I’ve got nothing bad to say about the club. It was an amazing experience for me to go and play there.

“To score, I think, 20 goals last season coming off the bench, it kind of goes a bit unnoticed. But that’s football. It’s time to move on now and get a fresh start,” Idah said.

Adam Idah of Celtic appears dejected after missing a penalty during the shootout Kairat Almaty v Celtic, UEFA Champions League, Play-Off Round, Second Leg, Football, Almaty Central Stadium, Almaty, Kazakhstan – 26 August 2025. Photo Nikita Bassov/Shutterstock

Idah found out about Swansea’s interest just before the recent Glasgow Derby at Ibrox. “It was crazy. I probably found out the day before that game, which was a bit of a crazy week, to be honest. It’s going to be a fresh start for me. I’ve spoken with the staff there and the lads.

“I loved my time at Celtic. At first, I didn’t want to leave Celtic. I wanted to go and fight for my spot. I wanted to do well there.

“But Swansea have a great project and I know some of the staff there. What they think I can bring to the team is something I want to go and do. I spoke with the staff at Celtic and it seemed right. I’m really looking forward to going to Swansea.”

Adam Idah of Celtic celebrates scoring to give Celtic a 2-1 lead. Celtic v Hibernian, Scottish Premiership, 10 May 2025 Photo Stuart Wallace/Shutterstock

Adam Idah got his first goal of the season on Saturday, a dramatic late equaliser for Ireland against Hungary in the World Cup qualifier after fighting back from 2-0 down. Sometimes all it needs is a goal to kick-start some form. At Celtic though he wasn’t given the time or the patience as the online trolls piled on help send him packing and with his confidence completely shot.

Celtic can be a difficult place right enough.

Best of luck to Adam at Swansea.

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