Bad news for Oh as Celtic prepare £5m bid to sign “fantastic” star

Celtic still have a lot to play for between now and the end of the current season as they try to avoid enduring a year without Brendan Rodgers.

The Hoops are currently three points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership with three games left to play, and there is a big Old Firm game to be played this weekend.

They also have the SFA Cup final coming up at Hampden Park against their closest rivals, meaning they could still win two pieces of silverware this month.

While there is still much to play for on the pitch, some attention has turned to next summer's transfer window and what they can do to strengthen the squad for the 2024/25 campaign.

That, however, is not all about bringing in new players from elsewhere, as Celtic are reportedly looking to make one of their loan deals permanent.

Celtic are set to sign a £5m star

The Hoops hope to sign long-term loanee Adam Idah at the end of the season, when his loan deal expires later this year.

According to Football Insider, the Bhoys are determined to sign him permanently after being on loan from Norwich City in Glasgow until now.

The report claims that Rodgers and Celtic are ready to submit a formal offer to secure their off-season, which shows how serious they are about getting a deal down the line.

However, it does not reveal how much the Scottish giants are willing to put on the table to bring him back to Parkhead for the 2024/25 campaign.

Earlier this month, The Scottish Sun reported that the Canaries had made a £5m bid for the centre-forward ahead of the summer window.

The outlet said his price could depend on the level of interest in his activities, as competition for his signature could rise above £5m, as English Championship teams and Hellas Verona have been chasing the attacker.

So it remains to be seen whether the Hoops will offer him a permanent deal as a report by Football Insider would not say how much he is willing to pay.

If Celtic are able and willing to make a £5m bid for Idah then they could win the race for the Ireland international and ensure his future remains in Glasgow.

Signing the 6 foot 3 forward on a permanent deal, however, would represent a piece of bad news for current Bhoys number nine Hyeon-gyu Oh.

Why this is bad news for Hyeon-gyu Oh

Celtic's desire to bring Idah back to Parkhead this summer is bad news for the South Korean international as his future is not looking good.

He has played three games for Celtic in all competitions since the start of the year, all three coming as a substitute and two against St Mirren.

O, who spent most of January in the AFC Asian Cup with South Korea, has played more games for his country in 2024 (four) than he did for the Scottish giants.

The 23-year-old striker has made two appearances in the Scottish Premiership in 2024, after making 18 appearances and three starts in the first half of the campaign at this stage.

He notched five goals and two assists in those 18 games as the young forward found himself second in the poll behind Kyogo Furuhashi.

These statistics indicate that the signing of Idah has greatly reduced his minutes on the field, since the young striker has not often entered the field when there are competitions since the arrival of the Irish player.

Signed from Suwon Bluewings for a reported £2.5m in January last year, Oh produced six goals and zero assists in 16 league outings for Celtic in the second half of the 2022/23 campaign.

In almost 18 months at Parkhead, the South Korean goalscorer has scored 12 goals in 47 games and started just six Premiership games in total.

So the desire to sign Idah is bad news for Oh as it does not suggest that his lack of game time in Glasgow could change anytime soon, and could force him to consider his future ahead of next season.

Why Celtic should sign Adam Idah permanently

The Scottish giants should be quick to sign the Norwich City loanee on a permanent deal as he is a better option than the South Korea international to provide competition to Kyogo in ninth place.

Since moving to Paradise briefly on deadline day in early February, Idah has caught the eye with his impressive finish in Scotland.

The 23-year-old star, who was there praised as “amazing” by Chris Sutton earlier this season, he has scored seven goals in 12 Premiership games so far for the Hoops.

As you can see from the table above, his form in Scotland's top flight has been more impressive than Oh's for Celtic so far this season, with two more goals and two more assists in eight fewer games.

The Norwich academy graduate has scored seven goals at an xG of 5.24, a 1.76 over-performance – the highest in the Hoops' squad.

Although, Oh has scored five goals at an xG of 6.35 in the Premiership and only three players in the squad have done better than his -1.35.

This suggests that Idah has been the club's best and most effective finisher in the top flight this term, while the former K League 1 star has been among the worst.

Therefore, Rodgers would be making the right decision, on paper, to sign the Ireland international permanently to further limit Oh's involvement in the first team.