Celtic ended the 2024/25 campaign without a domestic treble to show for their efforts after they were beaten on penalties by Aberdeen in the final of the SFA Cup on Saturday.
The Hoops had taken the lead through an own goal by Alfie Dorrington, only for Kasper Schmeichel to inadvertently parry the ball back into his own net in the second half.
Callum McGregor and Alistair Johnston then stepped up and missed in the penalty shootout, whilst the Dons produced an outstanding set of spot-kicks that gave Schmeichel little chance of redeeming himself.
It was a disappointing afternoon for the Hoops, who would have secured the treble if they had held on at 1-0, but it was still a successful season for Brendan Rodgers and his men.
Celtic won the Scottish Premiership title for the fourth time in as many years and beat Rangers on penalties to win the League Cup in the first half of the campaign.
One player who may have been left particularly disappointed by his afternoon was centre-forward Adam Idah, who failed to justify the manager’s faith in him as a starter.
Why Adam Idah should not be a starter for Celtic
The Hoops reportedly agreed a deal worth up to £9.5m, with an initial fee of £8.5m, to sign the Ireland international from Norwich City last summer, after he had spent the second half of the 2023/24 campaign on loan at Parkhead.
His last game on loan at the club came in the SFA Cup final against Rangers at Hampden Park, and the attacker came off the bench to net the winner in the last minute.
He was the super sub for the Scottish giants that day and his telling contribution to that trophy may have influenced the club’s decision to splash a significant transfer fee on the Norwich loanee.
However, Idah has failed to kick on as an effective starter for the Hoops in the 2024/25 campaign, as he still seems best suited to coming off the bench to make an impact late on.
Appearances
19
16
Minutes
1,352
357
Goals
6
7
Minutes per goal
225
51
Assists
0
1
As you can see in the table above, the 6 foot 3 marksman ended the Premiership campaign with six goals and zero assists in 19 starts, which is a fairly dismal return for a £9.5m-rated centre-forward.
Of course, Saturday’s defeat to Aberdeen was another game in which Idah started and failed to score, as he was withdrawn from the action without a goal or an assist before extra time.
The statistics paint a clear picture: Idah is best-suited to playing a role off the bench as a super sub against tired defences after replacing a starting centre-forward.
That is why Celtic should be in the market to sign an upgrade on the Irishman to start on a regular basis, and they could find that upgrade by swooping for one of their January target Evan Ferguson.
Evan Ferguson tipped for Celtic move
The Hoops were linked with an interest in the Brighton & Hove Albion forward in January, but missed out on a deal as he landed at West Ham United on loan.
Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman recently suggested that the Ireland international should, now, consider dropping down to the Premiership to play for Celtic after failing to play regular minutes with the Hammers.
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CeltsAreHere quoted him as saying: “I thought in January, and this is no disrespect to the Scottish Premiership, that Evan Ferguson should aim higher. But given what’s happened, a move to Celtic wouldn’t be the worst idea in the world.
“If he goes to Celtic, he would be guaranteed goals, which would only boost his confidence and help bring out the player that we saw break through at Brighton. Evan Ferguson just needs to play football. If a move to Celtic means he can do that, then I understand why he would do it.”
Rodgers should take Goodman’s advice and reignite his interest in signing the Premier League attacker in the upcoming summer transfer window, as he could come in to be the starting centre-forward next season.
Why Celtic should sign Evan Ferguson
The Scottish giants should swoop for the Brighton youngster because he is a talented young striker with the potential to be an upgrade on Idah for the club heading into the 2025/26 campaign.
Ferguson, who was described as “phenomenal” by teammate James Milner, has endured a difficult year, with just three Premier League starts for Brighton and West Ham combined, after missing pre-season last summer due to injury.
Prior to this difficult season, though, the 20-year-old attacker had shown plenty of promise at Premier League level with Brighton in the 2022/23 and 2023/24 campaigns.
The Irish number nine scored 12 goals in the top-flight in those two years combined, which shows that the potential is there for him to be an effective goalscorer at the top level.
22/23
5.67
6
+0.33
23/24
3.97
6
+2.03
24/25
1.36
1
-0.36
Total
10.29
13
+1.89
As you can see in the table above, Ferguson – who is valued at £40m by Football Transfers – outperformed his xG in both of those seasons, illustrating how clinical he can be at his best, before his struggles this term.
Whereas, Idah scored one goal from 2.76 xG across 29 appearances in the Premier League during his time with Norwich, which shows that he did not provide as much quality in front of goal as his international teammate did for Brighton.
Whilst Ferguson is coming off the back of a poor season, due to a lack of game time and injury problems last summer, it is clear to see that he has the potential to be a huge signing for Celtic, hence why Goodman claimed he would be “guaranteed goals” in Scotland.
The 20-year-old starlet has shown that he can punish Premier League defences efficiently, with his xG-to-goal ratio, which is why he could be a big upgrade on Idah, who ended the Premiership season with 13 goals from 14.77 xG.
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This is why Celtic should pursue a deal to bring Ferguson to the club when the summer transfer window opens for business, if he is an attainable target from Brighton, to improve their options in the final third.
