I’m breaking a rule this week. The 900-minute player assessment threshold will be rented asunder like a disused rag in the name of expediency.

As the season is drawing to a conclusion and the number of available minutes remaining diminishes, so such reckless abandon is necessary. Specifically, with media chatter about the likely cost of recruiting striker Adam Idah on a full-time basis speculated upon, it is unlikely he will have completed the requisite 900 minutes by the season's end. As such, I want to run the comparison exercise against the Irish striker. But the subject of that comparison will be Oh Hyun-Gyu (remember him?), whom Idah has effectively replaced as a substitute for starting striker Kyogo Furuhashi.

Health warning: my most infamous moments in the Celtic By Numbers persona have been 1. Daring to show Jonjoe Kenny and Anthony Ralston profiled similarly (I mean, who gets triggered by that?) and 2. By agreeing with the assertion of others that Reo Hatate’s off-ball activities were perhaps sub-optimal for European progression. If either or both of those points of view had you writhing on the floor seeking medical assistance, I warn you this article may not be for you.

To use Statsbomb data, neither player meets the 900-minute threshold for SPFL matches with Oh completing 8.4 matches worth and Idah 6.3.

Striker performance (StatsBomb)

Both players have primarily been used as impact substitutes for Kyogo. They profile as very similar-styled players. Strong on box presence and shooting volume, and highly competitive in aerial duels. The Korean, however, has nearly double the Irishman’s xG and takes around 50 per cent more shots.

Neither assists to a significant degree, but Oh is more active in winning aerial duels. He also offers more in pressing the opposition without the ball and loses it less often by turning the ball over – Idah is bottom 3 per cent in the league for this. Oh manages more touches in the box overall, too. The only main attacking metric whereby the Irishman is superior is in the “dribble and carry” on-ball value metric.

Striker defending (StatsBomb)

We can focus on defensive activity as a striker.

Idah wins a higher percentage of aerial duels (an impressive 75 per cent) and regains the ball from pressures more often than Oh, who actions more pressures. Other than that, the defensive activities are very similar – again suggesting that stylistically, they profile in the same population. Overall, Oh has the higher defensive action on ball value (0.06 to -0.01). If we are being generous there is little between the two players off the ball.

Striker performance (Celtic By Numbers)

My data covers all fixtures and includes some additional data points. This brings Oh up to 8.07 worth of 90 minutes and Idah to 7.3.

Idah has the higher xG per shot and the better all-shot conversion rate with 25 per cent. Otherwise, the Korean edges it in overall attacking threat score and again off the ball in pressing data. He is also far more creative with an expected assist rate of 0.32 compared to Idah’s 0.13. But again, to summarise the trends over the two data sources, they profile very similarly.

Summary

Idah has endeared himself to the support with a willing and energetic style of play plus netting a late winning penalty against Hibernian and a goal at Ibrox. His presence since recruited by Brendan Rodgers in January has led directly to the almost total absence of Oh from the match-day squads. We don’t know if that is simply due to perceived form or whether there are other non-playing factors at play. But let’s put hard business heads on here.  Both players are 23 years old, with Oh being younger by two months. One is in the building and on a contract until 2028. The Irishman could cost in the region of £6 million from Norwich City.

The data suggests that the same scouting filters resulted in both players being at Celtic. If anything, the incumbent Korean has a slight edge in his all-round game. As such, off-field concerns notwithstanding, it makes no sense to me to invest in Idah at that price when you have an almost facsimile (slightly better) player already in the squad and tied to a contract.

As a side note, Oh’s 2022-23 data is more impressive than his 2023-24 data. Finally, this is not to say either is the answer to replace Kyogo. That is a different conversation.

Incoming!