Why Celtic should act like a big club by signing Adam Idah

Some Celtic supporters may argue that they are even better this time around. Back then Frenchman Odsonne Edouard was on a season-long loan deal from PSG. In March of that year, Edouard netted a vital winning goal in the 69th minute during 10-man Celtic's 3-2 win over rivals Rangers at Ibrox Stadium. He added two more goals in a 5-0 win over the same opposition at Celtic Park the following month to seal Celtic's seventh consecutive league title.

Edouard made 29 appearances that season and scored 11 times as Celtic completed the domestic treble. Those performances convinced Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers in his first Parkhead stint to shell out a club-record fee of £9 million for Edouard's services. Fast forward six years and the scenario playing out is much the same. There is a touch of deva vu in Glasgow's east end. Rodgers is back in charge and he wants to sign a striker in the summer. For Edouard read Irishman Adam Idah.

The Republic of Ireland attacker has been nothing short of a revelation since coming north of the border from Norwich in January. His eight league goals yielded 16 crucial Scottish Premiership points - Celtic won the title by a margin of eight. His ninth goal in a Celtic jersey won the Scottish Cup as Rodgers's side ended the season with the 'double'.

Idah also became the first Irishman to score in a cup final for Celtic since Sean Fallon achieved the same feat when he scored for the men in green and white in a 2-1 win over Aberdeen at Hampden Park in 1953. Surprisingly, Celtic did not insert an option-to-buy clause on Idah but the Canaries know the 23-year-old is now a wanted man. Without Idah's contribution to the Celtic cause this season Rodgers's men would not have waltzed off with two out of the three domestic trophies on offer.

He kept his cool to bag a brace of penalties at Easter Road in a vital victory against Hibs. He rescued a serious situation at Fir Park with another double of goals - the first a towering header to level proceedings - which turned the match in Celtic's favour. He slammed home a late counter against Rangers at Ibrox to put Celtic 3-2 up with four minutes left on the clock only for a wonder strike by Rabbi Matondo to deny the visitors the win. He got Celtic off to a flyer in the title-clinching 5-0 destruction of Kilmarnock at Rugby Park when he scored the opener and played like a man possessed. 

He showed great striker instincts to follow up Paulo Bernardo's effort that was spilt by Jack Butland in the Scottish Cup final to smash the ball low and hard into the net for a fairytale winner for the self-confessed Celtic fan.  What's even more extraordinary is that seven of Idah's goals came on Celtic's travels. They have either been scored away from home or at a neutral venue. It's an incredible statistic - the other two league strikes came at Parkhead in the 7-1 destruction of Dundee and the 3-0 win over St Mirren.

Yet when Idah signed for Celtic at the end of the January transfer window it was not heralded as a big deal. There was no fanfare of trumpets and there were no crowds of supporters greeting the Irishman on the famous steps at Celtic Park. The supposed third-choice striker at Norwich City allegedly brought the curtain down on an underwhelming transfer window for the Scottish champions. One man waxed lyrical about his capture - Rodgers. Ironically enough the Northern Irishman even mentioned Edouard when he tried to sell the idea of Idah to the doubting Celtic supporters.

READ MORE: The striker that Celtic MUST sign according to club greats

Back in February, Rodgers said: "I'm excited by his talent and seeing if we can unlock that because if we can then this is a boy who can be a top-level striker and absolutely brilliant for us. 

"He has everything - this is 6ft 2in, of power and speed. So once he finds the relationships with the other players and the runs - and we’ll play to his strengths because he wants to run in behind - then he’s going to be a real handful. Then working with him on the training pitch and seeing his finishing - left foot, right foot, spin, strike - he was absolutely brilliant. The last time, when I was here, we had the beginnings of what was going to be a great combination between Moussa Dembele and Odsonne Edouard. It was all set and it was really exciting but then obviously we lost one.

"In Adam, we’ve got a genuine player and a big, big talent if we can get him to consistently perform. He’s been tipped to be a star since he was very young so he can cope with all that."

None of it was hyperbole. Rodgers genuinely believed that Idah was a gem in need of polishing as all the raw materials were there. Not for the first time this campaign Rodgers's words have been borne out and come to fruition. Idah excited everybody. He added a hell of a lot to the Celtic team this season. He helped Rodgers and his men win the double.

In the aftermath of Saturday's cup win over Rangers, Rodgers uttered these words about Idah in the Hamden Park auditorium. Rodgers said: "I felt that he has been the real catalyst for us over the course of the last few months. He had come in and I knew what I was getting. I had seen him live in the Premier League and he was 18 then and he has all the attributes.

"I think that is what the game is about. It is about evolution and players improving. I just know with Adam that he has such a high ceiling. What I love about him is that he is a big game player and in so many big moments he has stepped up to the plate. I was so happy for him. A boy from Ireland playing in the Scottish Cup final and scoring a goal for Celtic against Rangers. Wow! What a summer he will have."

READ MORE: The Celtic supporters had no 'Ideah' who Adam Idah was - they do now

A big game player? Idah played like a man that was born to play for Celtic. Does he remind you of someone? Edouard, perhaps? Is history repeating itself?

By winning the Scottish Premiership title and gaining automatic entry into the new Champions League competition, Rodgers also made sure he banked £60 million for the club's coffers. He is now entitled to be backed by the Celtic hierarchy come the summer. Speaking of optics this is exactly why Celtic needs to make Idah their first signing of the summer.

Idah has nothing to prove and he has integrated brilliantly into the Celtic set-up. He will only continue to grow and develop. His 'big game player' will only progress and keep getting better and better. Rodgers knows this.

As Rodgers said: "Listen, the board know how I feel about Adam. That was my reason for bringing him in. He is clearly someone that I'd like to do something with." Idah's capture would be the ultimate statement of intent by Rodgers and the Celtic board. It would set a further precedent in the transfer window and show that Celtic and Rodgers are gearing up for success not just domestically but at the elite level of European football. That remains the itch which Rodgers has to scratch as a Celtic manager.

In short, it would also signal that Celtic do mean business and that everyone is on the same page. It would usher in a new direction, a new way of thinking, a new strategy which is long overdue for a club of Celtic's stature. Anything else would be tantamount to the board undermining Rodgers. Those types of movies don't usually have happy endings. Just ask Rodgers.

When Celtic travelled back to Celtic Park to celebrate the double in front of their supporters at the weekend, Rodgers said this: "Just before we break up and you can go away and celebrate I just wanted you to remember one thing. The one thing is that when you support Celtic you support one of the biggest clubs in world football.

"From the outside, this is a massive club but what we have to remember is that we are all family and we have to look after each other as family and make sure going into next season we are even tighter and even stronger.

"Thank you for your support!"

If looking after every member of the Celtic Family is paramount to the club's success moving forward then that message should extend to everybody - the manager, the players, the staff, but especially the hierarchy. If Celtic are one of the biggest clubs in world football. Then the Celtic board has to start acting like it. Rodgers wants the club to be the best representation of themselves that they can be domestically and on the European stage.

Back in November at the club's AGM, Peter Lawwell said: "Celtic are committed to Scottish domination, a world-class football team and UCL progress albeit it’s a huge challenge. We feel that we are competing."

Celtic have got the Scottish domination part down to a fine art. Providing a so-called world-class football team for their managers of late has been the club's downfall. It's now over to the Celtic board to provide Rodgers with the necessary funds to acquire Idah permanently even if Norwich City start demanding Odsonne Edouard-esque sums of money to conclude a deal. Another club-record fee to make Idah a Celtic player is a no-brainer. Yes, before you ask, Idah is worth it.

After all, isn't that what families do? They look after each other, right? Rodgers has the drive and the ambition. The Celtic hierarchy now has the chance to finally prove that they are more than just a club by showing some real ambition of their own and going all in and backing the most important member of the Celtic Family - the Celtic manager.