Celtic hero Chris Sutton put it best when summarising the situation surrounding Adam Idah at Parkhead – “a total mess”.
A surprise late approach from Swansea City looked to have spelt the end for the Irishman’s time in Glasgow, only for the Hoops to hold fire amid the wait to acquire a replacement for manager Brendan Rodgers.
Heading into deadline day, the former Norwich City man ultimately sealed his bumper £7m switch to South Wales, bringing an end to a mixed 18-month stint in Scottish football.
Having been stung by the failure to replace Kyogo Furuhashi in January, the Celtic hierarchy had thankfully learned their lesson, with a successor to Idah already lined up months in advance.
Oh no, wait, that’s not what happened, is it? Instead, in the dying embers of the window, the Scottish champions were left scouring the free transfer market, even considering an approach for an injury-prone Patrick Bamford amid his recent Leeds exit.
As it proved, Rodgers got out the phonebook to reunite with Kelechi Iheanacho, having enjoyed a fruitful partnership with the Nigerian at Leicester City.
As for Idah, while the manner of his exit – and the search to replace him – represented a ‘total mess’, were Rodgers and co actually right to sell him?
Why Celtic had to sell Adam Idah
The caveat to this, of course, is as explained above. The Premiership giants should only have sanctioned a sale if a suitable replacement had already been lined up.
That being said, a £7m fee for a player of his ilk was undoubtedly too good to turn down, with Celtic only taking a slight hit on their initial £9m investment.
In truth, that was a fee that should never have been dished out in the first place, with the Hoops gambling on a player who had scored just 17 goals – yes 17 – in 116 games in all competitions during his time at Norwich City.
Of course, the 24-year-old’s return of nine goals in 19 games during his initial loan spell in 2024 – which included that Scottish Cup final clincher – was reason for encouragement, although the subsequent burden of a £9m fee, and the No.9 shirt, appeared to weigh too heavy.
Yes, there were high points, including his brace at Villa Park and the 20 goals in all competitions last term, yet his overall record of 29 goals in 76 games makes for disappointing reading – as too does his 19 big chances missed in the Premiership in 2024/25, as per Sofascore.
Failure to score in the early knockings of the new campaign, alongside his shoot-out miss away at Kairat, appeared to pave the way for his departure, with Celtic left to reflect on an expensive gamble that simply didn’t pay off.
At Ibrox, meanwhile, Rangers could well have secured their own Idah figure with the eye-watering £10m capture of Everton’s Youssef Chermiti, while Celtic may have to rely on a familiar face to deliver the goods this season.
How Daizen Maeda's value compares to Idah and Chermiti
If the £9m dished out on Idah raised eyebrows, then the £10m that the Gers have forked out for Chermiti appears even more headscratching, not least considering that the Portuguese striker has failed to score a single senior goal during his time with the Toffees.
As Celtic have seen in the case of the ex-Norwich man, splashing the cash on a player doesn’t always lead to success on the field, with the club’s best work having come when plucking a bargain from the market.
Matt O’Riley’s £1.5m acquisition is a perfect case in point, as too is the £1.6m fee that was forked out to make Daizen Maeda’s initial loan move a permanent deal, with few deals having proven quite so fruitful.
Market Movers
It hasn’t always been plain sailing for the Japanese speedster – having been guilty of his own spot-kick miss last month – but boy has he been effective during his three-and-a-half-year stay in Glasgow.
There are few better sights in football than the 27-year-old breathing down the neck of a defender with his relentless pace, having proven himself to be a physical “machine” in recent years, in the words of his former coach at Yokohama F Marinos, John Hutchinson.
A unique talent in European football, let alone Scotland, Maeda has more than warranted his growing cult hero status at Parkhead, having taken his game to even greater heights last season.
While an at-times profligate figure in his early Celtic days, having notably missed three big chances across just six Champions League group games in 2022/23, the ex-Yokohama man is now Rodgers’ go-to man.
Hibs
14
7
Hearts
12
6
Livingston
7
6
Rangers
21
5
Killie
11
5
Aberdeen
11
5
St Johnstone
10
5
Motherwell
11
4
Indeed, 2024/25 yielded a ridiculous tally of 33 goals and 12 assists in all competitions, including four goals during the club’s encouraging European run.
While only a solitary goal has followed this time around, the value of Maeda to Rodgers and to Celtic is immense. Indeed, according to Transfermarkt, he is now worth as much as €15m (£13m).
That not only eclipses the recent fees dished out for his fellow forwards Idah and Chermiti, but also the pair’s actual market values, deemed to be in the region of €6.5m (£5.5m) and €8m (£7m), respectively.
There will be much debate at Parkhead over who will take on Idah’s mantle as the starting striker, be it Iheanacho, Johnny Kenny or Shin Yamada, but in reality, if this season is to be a success, then it will be Maeda who is central to it.