Rodgers could sign big Idah upgrade in Celtic swoop for £7m "goal machine"

Celtic kicked off their Scottish Premiership campaign with a 1-0 win over St Mirren at Parkhead, thanks to a late goal from substitute Luke McCowan.

The Scottish central midfielder came off the bench to score from the edge of the box, via a fortunate deflection, to secure all three points for the home side.

After the match, Brendan Rodgers revealed that he still wants more signings to come through the door before the summer transfer window slams shut at the start of September, particularly in the attacking department.

The Northern Irish boss said: “It’s just about improving. There’s areas that we want to improve in the forward line. That’s something that we hope we can do over these remaining weeks.”

Adam Idah started the win over St Mirren as Celtic’s number nine and failed to do enough to suggest that he is set for a prolific season as a regular starter for the Hoops.

The Scottish giants reportedly agreed a deal worth up to £9.5m to sign the striker on a permanent deal from Norwich City last summer, but he has yet to nail down a position in the XI.

Why Celtic need to sign another striker

Rodgers confirmed that the club are going to be dipping into the market to bolster their attacking options in the coming weeks, and a new number nine should be on the agenda for the Premiership champions.

Idah has, unfortunately, failed to prove that he has the quality or consistency to deliver as the main number nine for Celtic, based on his form over the past 12 months or so.

Since the start of last season, the Ireland international has scored 13 goals from 14.66 xG in the Premiership for the Hoops. This shows that he has not been clinical in front of goal and has wasted too many high-quality opportunities in the league.

The closest Idah came to finding the back of the net against St Mirren was in the clip above, when he brought down a cross from Liam Scales and rocketed a shot off the post from close range.

As you can see in the table above, the £9.5m signing failed to score from 1.09 xG worth of chances and four shots, whilst he also created almost nothing for his teammates.

The 24-year-old centre-forward was replaced by Johnny Kenny in the 78th minute, before Celtic broke the deadlock nine minutes later through McCowan.

Because of the lack of quality that Idah has provided, consistently, on the pitch, Rodgers should be looking to find an upgrade on him before the window slams shut.

Last month, TEAMtalk reported that the Hoops are eyeing up a potential swoop for Wycombe Wanderers centre-forward Richard Kone, who is valued at £7m by the English side, this summer.

Why Celtic should sign Richard Kone

The Premiership champions should push to win the race for the £7m-rated star before the end of the month because he could come in as a big upgrade on Idah.

Kone is a young and hungry forward who could follow in Gary Hooper’s footsteps by making the move from the lower leagues in England to shine at Parkhead for the Hoops.

The biggest concern with Idah is that he does not finish chances efficiently, as evidenced by his aforementioned xG underperformance, but that may not be an issue for the Wycombe star if he makes the move to Glasgow in the coming weeks.

Kone, who scored three goals in three games in pre-season for Wycombe, enjoyed a stunning 2024/25 campaign in the third tier of English football, and his form last term suggests that the potential is there for him to be a fantastic signing for Celtic.

The Ivorian marksman had only scored three goals in 17 matches in League One in the 2023/24 campaign for the Choir Boys, before he hit his stride in his second season at first-team level.

Kone, as shown in the post above, won the League One Player and Young Player of the Season awards at the end of the campaign, which speaks to how impressive he was at the top end of the pitch.

The Hoops target ended the season with a return of 18 goals and three assists in 43 appearances in League One for Wycombe, albeit it was not enough to help them earn promotion back to the Championship.

As you can see in the table above, the 22-year-old talent was ruthless in front of goal for his side, outperforming his xG by just over two goals in the league, and ranked highly as a creator and a dribbler for his side.

Former teammate Joe Jacobson described him as a “goal machine” and it is not hard to see why his teammates held him in such high regard, as he was lethal for Wycombe in League One last term.

Kone could arrive at Parkhead as a big upgrade on Idah as another towering, but mobile, centre-forward, but one who can finish chances with efficiency.

The £7m-rated star could make the most of the high-quality chances that Celtic are able to create for their number nine on a regular basis, whilst Idah has yet to prove that he can do that.

Therefore, Rodgers should be pushing the club to strike a deal to bring Kone over to Glasgow as soon as possible, as he has the quality, as a scorer and a creator, to come in as an upgrade on his current number nine.