In football, timing is everything. And for Adam Idah, the timing has never been better.
With Jota cruelly ruled out for nine months after suffering an ACL injury, the spotlight now shifts to Celtic’s No.9 as the club enters the final stretch of its season. The Portuguese winger’s absence is a hammer blow—especially with the Scottish Cup Final looming—but it’s also opened a door that Idah has been quietly edging toward all season.
Now, it’s wide open.
Brendan Rodgers’ decision to throw Idah on at the weekend, sliding Maeda out wide, when Jota went down in the first half was a signal. This is the man the manager trusts to lead the line when the stakes are highest.
And there’s every reason to back him.
Sixteen goals in a stop-start season tell their own story. Despite not being a regular starter—with Kyogo holding down the role for most of the campaign, and Maeda moving centrally post-January—Idah has found ways to make his presence felt. He’s scored winners, changed games from the bench, and offered something different: a raw, physical edge that unsettles defenders in a way no one else in the squad does.
Now, with five games remaining—including the Cup Final at Hampden—he’s got the platform to reach the 20-goal mark.
Rodgers has made no secret of his admiration for the Irishman. “He can be unplayable,” he said on Friday. And he’s right. When Idah is on it, he doesn’t just score—he dominates and bullies defence.
If you look back to Kilmarnock away last season, the day Celtic won the league, that was probably the best performance you could get from a striker without scoring. He needs to replicate his play from that match.
He pins centre-halves, stretches defences, and brings others into the game. For a Celtic side still gunning for a domestic Treble, that kind of focal point is priceless.
Celtic need someone to carry the fight in Jota’s absence. Adam Idah looks ready to take it on.
