Why Celtic will win the high-stakes poker game with Norwich

I'm also a betting man. So believe me when I say that Idah will become a permanent Celtic player this summer. It is simply a question of when and not if.

Sure, Norwich City - who Idah is contracted until 2028 - are making all the right noises about keeping him and working with him moving forward as the Canaries gear up for the new Championship season.

Norwich Sporting Director Ben Knapper has gone on record stating that the club is keen to retain Idah.

Knapper said: “He’s a fantastic player, and in winter he had one of the best goals-per-minute ratios in Europe. He’s a proven goalscorer at Championship level and did very well at Celtic.

“He’s a full international who’s homegrown and has come through the system. He’s exactly the type of player who excites me.”

New Norwich City boss Johannes Hoff Thorup also said: “See it from another perspective. Imagine that he was a striker in another club with his track record, with his history, academy background and so on. What would we say about him? We would say he is quite an interesting striker, I would guarantee.

“It would be wrong for me to say that we cannot spend time on him, or we should not give him a fair chance as well. I hope that he will find that the way we do things now will also encourage him, and will also give him the feeling that, ‘Okay this is the right place for me’.

"That's the ambition for now because I think he's a good player with some good qualities and he could definitely be a striker for us.

“For all the players here, it will be unfair for me to say that, from day one, I will just go and say, ‘Okay, we need this and this and this’. No, I have to give them a chance. We have to see.

"Sometimes players can surprise from initially we have the thought, ‘Okay, they will maybe not be good enough’, but then you can see in training and some pre-season games that they can take the steps. So I think it's fair for me to give them the chance.”

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Trust me, though, Norwich City are fighting a losing battle. If social media is to be believed then the player had already set his heart on a move to Celtic. Talking of cards, there is now a high-stakes poker game taking place between the two clubs. Neither want to show their hand too early. Norwich City is certainly doing their best to convince its supporters that they are doing all it can to persuade Idah to stay put at Carrow Road. It won't be enough.

Idah's heart is just pulling him in another direction and not without good reason. His nine goals for the men in green and white carved an indelible mark in the hearts and minds of the Celtic supporters as Brendan Rodgers' men claimed the 'double last season. Idah had never felt adulation and hero worship like it in his career. He craves more of it. It's perfectly understandable.

He won't get 60,000 chanting his name every week at Norwich City.

He won't get to play in one of the most renowned derbies in world football at Norwich City.

He won't get a minimum of eight games in the greatest club competition on planet football - the Champions League - at Norwich City.

Rodgers knew that the moment he clapped eyes on Idah. Norwich can play hardball all they like but the Republic of Ireland attacker knows where his future lies and it is 365 miles away from Norfolk. In Glasgow's east end to be precise.

(Image: Agency)

No sooner had Idah slammed home the winner in the Scottish Cup final at Hampden Park in May against Rangers when Rodgers proclaimed: "Listen, the board know how I feel about Adam. That was my reason for bringing him in. I felt that he has been the real catalyst for us over the course of the last few months.

"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. He knows my feelings, the club know my feelings and we will see what happens."

It was a warning shot over the bow to the Celtic board. Get this deal done.

Why? Rodgers glimpsed the future.

Idah is exactly the type of No. 9 that Celtic desperately needs in Europe, especially the newly revamped Champions League competition.

Celtic will need an out ball. particularly during the away matches. They will need a player who can hold the ball up to relieve the pressure, especially against the top teams whenever they are pressing Celtic high up the pitch for sustained periods. Celtic will need someone with a bit of sheer brute strength who displays composure under pressure.

Above all else, Celtic will need a deadly finisher and Idah has proven himself to be a dab hand at that at both domestic and international level thus far. That's Idah's game alright. Granted Idah might not be the 100 per cent finished article yet but Rodgers clearly sees the potential. The 51-year-old is convinced that the nub and foundations of a player are there and that his attributes are enough to build on.

Furthermore, Celtic defender Liam Scales also thinks so as he extolled the virtues of his fellow countryman recently by saying: "We’d love to have him (Idah) back. He’s a brilliant player but to have him in the changing room as well is brilliant.

"He’s a good guy and he’s funny and everyone got on well with him. We would all love to see him back, he was massive for us, and he scored massive goals and put in massive performances. We’d all love him back but it’s out of our control. Hopefully, it happens.

"Adam's got physicality and he gives you that option where you can hit his feet, and he can hold off the big Scottish defenders and that's a great outlet for me as a centre-half and for the centre-midfielders.

"They can play into him, and we can get our creative players playing off of him as well. Apart from the goals he's scored, that's a strength of his.

"He was coming on in games and he was a completely different threat, he's bigger, he's more physical, and that worked in our favour because he could come on physically challenging these defenders. A lot of the time he'd beat them, and score goals. He was quality and I don't think it could have gone better for him.

"I think being able to adapt and change, especially in the Champions League is a good thing. It is definitely good to have different options and different styles playing against Champions League teams because you might not have as much of the ball and you might have to defend more. For us to have different players for different options, that'd be great."

Read more:

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

Why Idah is the player Oh was meant to be for Celtic

(Image: Agency)

Not only is Idah a good player. He is also a good person. The right person. Rodgers places a lot of stock in employing and working with good people. Idah just seems like the right fit for Rodgers and Celtic.

Celtic chanced their arm and tested the waters with a lowball £4 million offer for the player recently which was quite rightly rebuffed by Norwich. It is largely why Celtic haven't moved on to other striking targets this summer as Rodgers and the club sense that a deal can be done with Norwich at the right price.

Remember the Celtic board knows Rodgers's feelings on this transfer. Idah also knows the Celtic manager's feelings on it. Sometimes patience is a virtue in these situations.

Why else would Rodgers entertain a lengthy pursuit of a top target if there wasn't grounds for encouragement and a good outcome at the end of it all? If a deal for Idah was dead in the water then Celtic would surely have switched their attention and focused on other attacking possibilities by now.

In every game of high-stakes poker, one party supposedly holds all the cards. In this case, you would fully expect it to be Norwich City and it is to a certain extent because Celtic did not tie the player down on an option-to-buy contract six months ago.

However, when it comes to upping the ante Celtic has the financial wherewithal to bankroll this deal. Norwich can bluff all they want but the Scottish champions will raise their offer to more than £6 million if they need to.

As I said at the start of this article, I am a gambling man and here is how this particular game of Texas Holdem plays out.

When it comes to the flop over where Idah will be playing his football next season it is Celtic and Rodgers who will be left holding all the aces whilst Norwich City can just cry me a river.