Viable alternatives to Idah not cheaper, where stands the adding quality pledge?

Maybe now is the time to consider alternatives to Adam Idah and move for other targets that Celtic will have…

It looks increasingly unlikely that Adam Idah will join Celtic with each passing day. I said the other day that I believed he will still end up at the club, but I’m starting to have my doubts.

The clubs look a distance apart in their transfer valuation and that doesn’t look like changing any time soon.  Yes, Adam wants to return to Glasgow, but Norwich hold all the cards and quite rightly aren’t budging on what they believe is a fair price for their player.

There’s been no other clubs credited with an interest in signing the Irish international striker, outside of Celtic and it’s well known that the player had an unhappy, frustrating spell at Norwich last season where he struggled for both starts and form. His valuation is down to his success at Celtic on his loan spell.

The two clubs current valuations are millions apart with Celtic sticking to around a 50% uplift on the £3m valuation of the player at the start of February while Norwich appear to be looking, judging from their fans forums, for a 100% increase to take the price to £6m.

With add-ons likely to prove fruitful for the Carrow Road side, and with Celtic using these effectively with other clubs in transfer dealings – Benfica being a good example on the Jota deal – the gap can be closed. A complication is that Norwich need the money from outgoing transfers to fund any new deals, much the same as the situation at Ibrox. And with a new manager in place the plan will be to maximise their return from Celtic as they know fine well that the Celtic manager, the player himself and the Celtic support want the signing done.

Can you really blame them for that? Probably not, but they are in danger of overplaying their hand, and in doing so failing to secure funds to bring in the manager’s own players while being left with an unhappy want-away – and we know from bitter experience at our own club that doesn’t end well.

Adam is currently on a pre-season tour in Belgium with the Canaries so we have to accept that situation and admit that as things stand he is pretty much in the thoughts of new boss Johannes Hoff Thorup, unless a third bid from Celtic is accepted.

With the new season all most upon us it’s vital that we sign a centre forward, especially with Oh moving to Genk.

We have been credited with interest in strikers such as Danish striker Mathias Kvistgaarden and Aberdeen striker Bojan Miovski, but neither will be signed for the £4.5m Celtic have apparently offered for Adam Idah.

A few others have also likely been placed on a wish list by Brendan Rodgers, so perhaps it’s time that we start to turn our attention towards new targets?

However Celtic could easily afford Adam Idah, or Mathias Kvistgaarden or Bojan Miovski and let’s be honest the Celtic support would like two from the three signed.

If we end up with none but a cheaper player from well down the list then the ‘adding quality’ aspiration of the manager will have been frustrated and so will the entire Celtic support.

Just an Ordinary Bhoy