John Hartson questions £9.5m Celtic agreement with Norwich City | OneFootball

Adam Idah completed a move to Celtic last summer in a deal worth up to £9.5 million

John Hartson has called into question the decision to sign Adam Idah from Norwich City on a permanent basis last summer.

The Ireland international enjoyed a six-month loan spell at Parkhead in the previous campaign, scoring eight times in 15 league appearances (all stats from Fbref).

This led to the Scottish giants pursuing a permanent move, with an agreement worth £9.5 million ultimately being agreed, according to Sky Sports.

The 23-year-old has started just two of the team’s opening eight league fixtures this season, coming off the bench a further four times.

Idah has only one league goal to his name this term, while also scoring in one of his two appearances in the Champions League.

John Hartson questions Norwich City agreement

Hartson has questioned the £9 million fee paid to sign Idah from Norwich last summer, raising concerns over his start to life at the club on a permanent basis.

While he has refrained from criticising the player too much, he believes Celtic could have spent that money better.

“I don’t know how many were on Celtic’s shopping list, I have to be honest with you,” said Hartson, via Go Radio.

"But they went for Adam Idah.

“I think we all got, not sucked in, but we were all impressed last season.

"I think it was 19 appearances, a lot of them were off the bench, delighted that he scored the winning goal in the cup final against Rangers.

“He made a real big hero of himself. Big name for himself. Scored some big goals, by the way, in the run-in.

“He hasn’t hit the ground running.

“One of the reasons is that it’s very hard to dislodge Kyogo [Furuhashi].

“Sometimes when you feel that you are next man in and not the number one striker, it can give you that lack of confidence and you are thinking ‘the manager isn’t putting me in this week’, in terms of being the main number nine.

“I think sometimes that can halt your confidence.

"I am not going to criticise him too much, but I am not sure who else Celtic had their eye on last season. He cost £9 million.

“A lot of the fans might just say well. ‘Could we have got a better one?’ One of the reasons why Celtic took him is because he did so well on loan.

“He seemed the obvious one.”

Adam Idah’s Norwich City stint

Idah broke into senior football at Norwich, making the move to their academy system in 2017 before earning his debut for the Canaries in August 2019.

However, he struggled to ever cement himself as a key figure at Carrow Road, which led to him going out on loan to Celtic last January.

He made 100 league appearances for the Norfolk outfit during his time at the club, scoring 12 times.

Idah has a contract with Celtic until the summer of 2029.

Norwich cashed in on Idah at the exact right time

Idah was never able to prove himself as a key part of the Norwich first team squad, so the club did well to cash in on him last summer for such a good fee.

That £9.5 million looks even better now in the context of Idah’s current struggles for game time in Glasgow.

While he’s clearly a talented forward with plenty of potential, it was difficult to see him fulfilling that potential by staying at Carrow Road.

The loan stint at Celtic last year showed what he can do, but Brendan Rodgers’ side have been unable to get the best out of him since making the permanent switch so far.