Adam Idah faces real issue at Swansea City after Celtic exit | OneFootball

Adam Idah faces stiff competition from Zan Vipotnik at Swansea City upon his return from injury

It's been a season of two halves in South Wales for Swansea City, with the club having begun poorly under former Luton Town midfielder Alan Sheehan before his eventual dismissal and being replaced by former Liverpool coach Vitor Matos.

Matos had been working in his native Portugal with second-tier side Maritimo, which was his first job as a senior head coach, having previously worked as a coach with Porto, Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp, and RB Salzburg with Pepijn Lijnders, whom he followed from the Merseyside outfit.

His arrival at the Liberty Stadium has seen a significant improvement in both form and performance, with the Swans still with an outside shout of achieving a top-six finish this season.

Arguably, their biggest improvement this season has been Slovenian forward Zan Vipotnik, whose form in front of goal this campaign has seen him being credited with a potential move to Premier League side West Ham United as recently as this January.

At 23, Vipotnik showed glimpses of his quality last season, with seven goals in 42 Championship appearances. However, this season he has already doubled that tally, and looks like a completely different commodity.

Matos will be loving his form in front of goal, though one teammate, who is currently out injured, certainly won't with his route back into the side now looking increasingly difficult due to the Slovenian.

Adam Idah faces a tough task forcing his way back into the Swansea City side due to the form of Zan Vipotnik

Having joined the club over the summer from Scottish giants Celtic in an initial £6 million deal, potentially rising to £7 million, Idah has yet to justify the fee that Swansea paid for him, and is being outshone by Vipotnik at almost every turn.

Indeed, the Irish international has struggled with injuries across the campaign, though just three goals and one assist in 18 league games thus far has been particularly underwhelming.

The 25-year-old has yet to make an appearance this year, with his last outing coming in the Swans' late 2-1 victory over Welsh rivals Wrexham just before Christmas, where he pounced upon Arthur Okonkwo's mistake in goal.

In the meantime, Vipotnik has done a good job to ensure that Idah's presence hasn't been missed, with the Slovenian currently leading the Championship goalscoring ranks ahead of the likes of Haji Wright, Oli McBurnie, and Kieffer Moore.

At 25, Vipotnik is still rough around the edges, though Matos has done brilliantly to refine his game since coming in, seeing him being linked with a move to the top flight as a result.

West Ham instead signed both Pablo Felipe and Valentin Castellanos instead, though if Vipotnik continues at this rate, he may well find himself in the Premier League next season regardless.

While the Slovenian has done everything in his power to divert the attention away from Idah, the Irish international almost certainly won't be pleased by it, as his route back into the Swansea starting XI upon his return from injury looks to be increasingly challenging.

Matos has preferred a 4-2-3-1 system since his arrival, leaving room for only one natural centre-forward, meaning if both were to play, one would have to play on the wing at the detriment of the other.

With Vipotnik in the form of his life, Idah is unlikely to dislodge him anytime soon, as he faces an uphill task to break his way back into the Swans squad, despite his summer fee.

Adam Idah, Zan Vipotnik situation is a good headache for Vitor Matos to have

Whilst it's not ideal to have a £6 million striker as a backup in the Championship, there are certainly worse problems for Matos to have right now.

Vipotnik's form can only mean that Idah must work extra hard to earn his place in the side, with the strength in competition up front extremely high.

This is without even mentioning Liam Cullen, who has proven on numerous occasions that he is more than capable of leading the Swans line.

With Vipotnik not only setting the standard for the other strikers in Swansea's side, but for every other striker in the division, having Idah as another option can only be a good thing for Matos, who will have some big decisions to make in regards to playing time once the Irishman returns to the fold.