The January transfer window can be a notoriously difficult time to get deals done but Celtic have done well in recent years to extract value out of the winter market.
It is harder to get transfers over the line midway through the season because you are, typically, trying to sign quality players and their current clubs may not be keen to cash in on one of their stars midway through a campaign, damaging their team ahead of the second half of the season.
However, the Hoops hit the jackpot in January of last year when they swooped to sign German forward Nicolas Kuhn from Rapid Vienna for a reported fee of £3m.
The left-footed winger has racked up 21 goals, including two goals against RB Leipzig in the Champions League this season, and 15 assists in 57 appearances in all competitions for the Hoops to date.
Kuhn has provided a regular threat as both a scorer and a creator of goals from the right flank for Brendan Rodgers, but he was not the only arrival in that January window who went on to become a success at Parkhead.
The Scottish giants also wanted to bolster their centre-forward options ahead of the second half of the 2023/24 campaign and swooped to sign Adam Idah on loan from Norwich City.
Adam Idah's impressive loan spell
The Ireland international, who came up through the academy system at Carrow Road, had scored six goals in 28 appearances in the Championship for the Canaries in the first half of that season, which was far from an exceptional return.
This was not a case of Celtic going out and pinching a team’s best player for big money. Idah found himself behind the likes of Josh Sargent, Ashley Barnes, and Hwang Ui-jo under David Wagner, which presented the Hoops with an opportunity to sign him on an initial loan deal.
The 6 foot 3 marksman did not need any time to settle into life in Glasgow, though, as he recorded an assist off the bench on his debut against Aberdeen and scored twice, both from the penalty spot, against Hibernian on his full debut in the next match.
He had to compete for a place in the starting line-up with Kyogo Furuhashi, however, and that meant that he was often on the bench in reserve, whilst the Japanese forward started.
Appearances (starts)
15 (5)
Goals
8
Conversion rate
27%
Goals per 90
1.2
Big chances missed per 90
0.5
Assists
2
As you can see in the table above, Idah provided a huge threat in front of goal in spite of his limited game time, averaging 1.2 goals per 90 minutes in the Scottish Premiership.
The crowning moment of his loan spell at Celtic, however, came in his final appearance of the season with the winner against Rangers at Hampden Park in the last minute of the SFA Cup final.
The Hoops did not have an option to sign him permanently, as part of their original loan agreement, and that meant that they had to pursue him in the summer window.
Celtic's deal to sign Adam Idah
Idah returned to Norfolk for pre-season last summer and had a new head coach to impress in Johannes Hoff Thorup, who had replaced Wagner at Norwich, and that may have caused some concern in Celtic circles as it represented a potential chance of a resurgence for the Irishman at the English side.
However, despite the striker featuring in pre-season and in Norwich’s opening day clash with Oxford United, the Hoops continued to pursue a deal for him.
Celtic had a bid of £4m rejected by the Canaries in July and made another offer of £6m in August, which was not enough to strike a deal but did allow them to continue negotiations.
Chalkboard
Eventually, on the 14th of August, the Premiership champions reached an agreement with Norwich to sign Idah for an initial fee of £8.5m, rising to £9.5m with add-ons.
The 24-year-old striker has scored 13 goals in all competitions for the club this season, and he will hopefully go on to enjoy a long and successful career with the Bhoys.
Rodgers made more moves in the most recent January transfer window and may have unearthed his next Idah by signing Jeffrey Schlupp on loan from Crystal Palace.
Why Schlupp could be the next Idah
The Hoops needed to add a left-back to their squad ahead of the second half of the season after Barcelona recalled young defender Alex Valle from his loan spell in order to send him to Como in Italy.
Greg Taylor was the only senior left-back option in the squad after Valle’s departure from Parkhead, and Rodgers reacted to that by swooping to sign Schlupp on loan until the end of the season.
The versatile star, who can also play in midfield or on the wing, arrived as a vastly experienced option for the manager to call upon, as he has played 280 Premier League matches in his career – winning the title with Leicester City.
Schlupp, who Rodgers claimed has “incredible pace”, has only played seven matches for the Scottish giants so far but has already shown enough to suggest that the club should attempt to sign him permanently in the summer.
The Ghana international has won 58% of his duels across four appearances in the Premiership, however, his most impressive display came against Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
Minutes
90
Clearances
9
Tackles + interceptions
11
Blocks
1
Duels won
8/10
Dribbled past
1x
As you can see in the table above, Schlupp was a defensive force against the German giants in the 1-1 draw in Bavaria, as he kept former teammate Michael Olise relatively quiet.
Olise won five of his seven ground duels and scored a goal up against Taylor in the first leg, before losing seven of his 12 ground duels and failing to provide a goal or an assist against Schlupp in the second leg.
The veteran defender, therefore, outperformed Taylor on the biggest stage and his impressive early performances could convince Rodgers to sign him permanently, particularly given that his contract at Palace expires in the summer.
Schlupp could be the next Idah to impress on loan as a January addition before signing permanently in the summer, although Celtic could land him on a free transfer instead of having to prolong a multi-million-pound pursuit of him as they did with the striker.
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Kieran Tierney is due to join on a free transfer in the summer, but, with Taylor also out of contract, Schlupp could sign permanently to provide quality back-up to the Scotland international.