Brendan Rodgers says that Celtic ‘can never win’ after questions were raised around the transfer fee they paid for Adam Idah, arguing that the striker is worth ‘every single penny’ of a potential club record transfer outlay.
With add-ons included, Celtic may eventually pay up to £9.5m to Norwich City for the 23-year-old, but Rodgers is adamant that the forward represents excellent value for money when you consider the attributes that he brings to his attack.
And he is certain that the man who scored nine goals in 19 appearances last season, including some pivotal late strikes along the way, will only get better under his tutelage in Glasgow.
“You can never win, can you?” Rodgers said.
“You don't spend money. You do spend money. You spend too much.
“We've got a great deal. I know the player that we have here. And for me, it's just a case of just getting him moving in the direction that I believe he can move in. He has all the talent.
“He's 6ft 3ins, he’s quick, he’s strong, his touch is good. He can score goals. He has big moments and big games. So, for me, there's still areas that he can improve on, of course. And as a young player, that's what you'd expect.
"But I really think that whatever money we paid for him, he's worth every single penny of it – and he'll demonstrate that in the next 24 months. He'll be worth a lot more than that.
“I'm absolutely delighted. People talk about transfer fees and everything else. This is the guy who paid that last year.
“I'm delighted for him because I think that he's got huge potential. He showed that last season. If I was so relaxed on a signing it was this one here because I knew what his talent is. What you never know sometimes in recruitment, and you never really understand it until you come in, is the mentality of a player.
“I think what I've seen with him in my time here is that he had proven to me he has that big game mentality, big club mentality. So, I wanted to do everything I could.
“I thank the board for reaching out and getting Adam here because I think that over the next two to three years, he can really flourish and show all the quality that he has. He's in an environment where he'll improve.
“He's shown that he can deal with pressure and play big moments. And I'm really excited for him and for the Celtic supporters and obviously for the team that we've got someone back who can really help us be successful going forward.”
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Adam Idah or Kyogo? Striker looks for more regular starts after Celtic return
Idah was paraded at Celtic Park for the second time on Thursday, where he made it plain that he was very much aiming to be the first-choice striker for the club ahead of teammate Kyogo Furuhashi. But Rodgers says there is room for two top-quality forwards in his squad.
“Listen, I'll make it clear, I see them both as number one strikers,” he said.
“I don't see one as number one, one as number two. I think Kyogo, in his time here, he has been absolutely brilliant.
“He's been really, really good. And this season, he started off the season really, really well. So that's great. But you can't rely on someone who only played to the highest level, 55 to 60 games a season.
“We want to go deep in as many of the competitions as we can. So that will take us to that number of games. And you can't have just one striker to do that. I felt that I wanted another guy who I can call a number one striker.
“That's what I feel I have. Just depending on the game, depending on the energy in the team, just depending on the circumstances of the match or the fixture list, then having those two is a big asset for us.”
