Celtic ended their 2023/24 campaign with another trophy last weekend as they won the SFA Cup final at Hampden Park to complete a domestic double.
The Hoops had already won and lifted the Scottish Premiership title under Brendan Rodgers and added the cup to their cabinet with a 1-0 win over their local rivals.
Rodgers returned to Parkhead last summer, after Ange Postecoglou departed to join Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League, and enjoyed a relatively strong first season back at Paradise – winning two pieces of silverware.
However, the Northern Irish head coach may want better success on the European front next term, after his team were knocked out of Europe completely by finishing bottom of their Champions League group during the first half of the campaign.
The upcoming summer transfer window will provide the ex-Liverpool boss with another opportunity to make fresh additions to his squad to push on and improve next year, and they are already plotting to sign one player in a deal that could be worth £6m.
Celtic plotting deal for cup final hero
After his winning goal in the SFA Cup final against Rangers at Hampden Park last weekend, Celtic are reportedly eyeing up a swoop to sign Adam Idah on a permanent deal.
According to the Daily Record, Rodgers wants to bring the Ireland international back to Parkhead for a permanent spell and the board are now ready to back him in his pursuit.
The report claims that the Hoops chiefs are committed to making sure that the Northern Irish tactician gets his wish, by lining up a move for the Norwich City loanee.
It states that the Canaries, who brought the 6 foot 3 marksman up through their academy system, are looking for a fee in the region of £6m for the impressive forward.
However, the Daily Record do not reveal whether or not the Scottish giants are prepared to meet the full £6m asking price, or if they will look to haggle it down to a cheaper fee.
Norwich are reportedly closing in on a deal to make Johannes Hoff Thorup their new head coach and it also remains to be seen whether or not the Danish tactician’s arrival could affect Celtic’s pursuit of Idah.
The incoming boss could have the Irishman as part of his plans or may be willing to cash in on him to fund signings of his own, so the Scottish side may have to wait for his arrival before they can get a deal over the line.
Celtic could, though, land a better option than Kyogo Furuhashi to lead the line for them next season if they can bring the 23-year-old centre-forward back to Parkhead.
Kyogo Furuhashi’s struggles this season
The Japan international came into the 2023/24 campaign off the back of a return of 27 goals in 31 Premiership starts under Postecoglou last term.
He had enjoyed an incredibly prolific season in Scotland and looked set to be a crucial figure at the top end of the pitch for the Hoops and Rodgers this time around.
Whilst Kyogo still scored goals, the 29-year-old forward’s efficiency in front of goal left a lot to be desired as the attacker let his teammates down with wasteful finishing too often.
| Celtic’s most wasteful finishers | |||
| 23/24 Premiership | xG | Goals | xG differential |
| Kyogo Furuhashi | 18.39 | 14 | -4.39 |
| Daizen Maeda | 8.78 | 6 | -2.78 |
| Reo Hatate | 4.92 | 3 | -1.92 |
| Luis Palma | 8.54 | 7 | -1.54 |
| Hyeon-gyu Oh | 6.35 | 5 | -1.35 |
| Stats via WhoScored | |||
As you can see in the table above, no Celtic player underperformed more as a finisher than the Japanese dud as he scored at least four goals fewer than expected based on the quality of chances that were created for him.
Kyogo ended the Premiership season with 14 goals and a staggering 24 ‘big chances’ missed in 38 matches, which shows that he did not make the most of the opportunities that came his way.
The 5 foot 7 attacker did not offer much outside of his goals as he only had 16.9 touches of the ball and completed 5.6 passes (67% success rate) per game on average, which shows that the forward did not get involved in the build up and the few touches he did have seemed to end up with big chances being missed.
Why Adam Idah is better than Kyogo Furuhashi
Rodgers could now sign a striker who is better than Kyogo by snapping up Idah on a permanent deal for £6m, based on the loanee’s superb performances during the second half of the campaign.
The Hoops snapped him up on loan from Norwich on deadline day at the start of February and the striker, who was lauded for his “incredible” talent by the Bhoys boss, hit the ground running in Scotland.
| 23/24 Premiership | Adam Idah | Kyogo Furuhashi |
| Appearances | 15 | 38 |
| Minutes per game | 41 | 66 |
| Goals | 8 | 14 |
| Big chances missed | 7 | 24 |
| Minutes per goal | 76 | 179 |
| Aerial duel success rate | 64% | 26% |
| Stats via Sofascore | ||
As you can see in the table above, Idah scored eight goals in 15 league appearances and averaged a goal every 76 minutes – taking 103 minutes less to score than Kyogo.
The 6 foot 3 marksman, who won Celtic the SFA Cup on Saturday with his strike, also came out on top in 64% of his aerial duels and has the physicality and height to dominate opposition defenders in the air, which makes him a fantastic outlet for the team to utilise when under pressure.
Despite playing 25 minutes less per game on average, Idah had more touches per game (17.9) and completed more passes per match (7.1) than the former Vissel Kobe star.
This shows that the Irishman gets far more involved in the build-up play to provide the team with a focal point in the number nine position, which was on full display in the 5-0 win over Kilmarnock to seal the league title as he scored a goal and held the ball up brilliantly – completing 85% of his passes – up front.
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