Celtic are bracing themselves for a potential record bid for one of their stars this summer, it has emerged.
Celtic keen to sign Idah
Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers wasted no time outlining his desire to keep loanee striker Adam Idah at Celtic Park this summer after he fired in a late winner to clinch the Scottish Cup at Rangers' expense last weekend to add to their Scottish Premiership success.
“The board know how I feel on Adam, that was the reason for bringing him in,” Rodgers said. “He’s been a real catalyst for us, especially over the last few months.
“What he’s done since coming in is show that he’s a goalscorer. He gets different types of goals. He has great movement in the box and he deals with pressure moments. Today, he was like a real number nine sniffing in and around the box.
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“He’s been absolutely immense for us and he’s clearly someone I’d like to do something with. Hopefully we can do something. He has a long-term contract at Norwich but he is definitely one I would love to bring back here."
Though the Norwich man has flourished for Celtic with nine goals in 18 appearances across all competitions, his arrival could spell bad news for another one of Celtic's forwards, who is now subject to interest ahead of a potential record move away from the club.
Idah arrival could fill Kyogo void
That comes in the shape of fan favourite Kyogo Furuhashi, who has been left firmly in the shade following Idah's form. A firm favourite under Ange Postecoglou, the arrival of Brendan Rodgers as new Celtic boss has seen Kyogo become slightly less important to the Hoops, and his goal contributions have suffered as a result.
He found the net only 11 times in the Scottish Premiership this time around, and Rodgers challenged his striker to "step up" a level in March. It came amid a poor run of form in which he scored just three times in 2024, and often failed to play 90 minutes for the Bhoys, though he netted on three occasions after the top six split to help Celtic secure the title.
Kyogo Furuhashi – failing under Rodgers?
2022-23 SPL season
2023-2024 SPL season
Appearances
36
38
Goals
27
14
Assists
3
5
% of minutes played
67%
73.1%
Minutes per goal contribution
77.5
131.6
Now, a shock new claim has linked Kyogo with a return to Japan. That comes as the richest team in the J-League, Urawa Red Diamonds, are reportedly lining up an ambitious move for the Japanese star as they look to bolster their frontline.
Despite still having three years left to run on his lucrative £19,000 a week deal, the Red Diamonds are willing to break the J-League transfer record (£10m) to make a move happen, while the report adds Celtic may be tempted to cash in should an offer in excess of that be sent their way.
It would represent significant profit on the Japanese international, who was signed for just £4.5m back in 2021. It is added that "Celtic would be under no obligation to sell and there is no suggestion that the player himself has yet been agitating for a move", but the Bhoys may be tempted to cash in if an offer "well in excess" of £10m was tabled, something that the J-League side are reportedly willing to do.
Though Kyogo's departure would be a blow to Celtic, his fall down the pecking order and form under Rodgers may make this summer the perfect time to cash in and reinvest the profits.