Celtic’s new signing Adam Idah has been urged to “step up and be the man” following his permanent move from Norwich City this summer.
Former Celtic and Scotland striker Frank McAvennie has expressed concerns about the 23-year-old’s form, suggesting he “looked a lot sharper last year,” but remains confident that manager Brendan Rodgers can get the best out of the forward.
Idah completed a £9.5 million transfer to Celtic Park after impressing during a successful six-month loan spell last season.
During that time, he managed to net nine goals in 19 appearances across all competitions for the Glasgow giants.
Despite that prolific spell, his return to Celtic has been far from seamless, with the striker managing just 72 minutes in the Scottish Premier League since rejoining.
His recent form has also raised eyebrows, as Idah is without a goal or assist in his last seven outings for both club and country.
Since returning from international duty with the Republic of Ireland, the forward has struggled to find his rhythm. Furthermore, he hasn’t completed a full 90 minutes of football since Celtic’s 2-0 league defeat to Hearts back in March.
McAvennie, speaking to Football Insider, said: “He doesn’t look fit, I think Brendan will get him fit. He looked a lot sharper last year than what he does now, even when he was playing for the Republic of Ireland. I saw his touch, I thought he was not holding the ball up as well as he does.”
The former striker added: “I don’t know if he’s got problems, or if there are other things happening, but he’s got to get his mind on it. There is no doubting how good he is. We all know how good he is and what he can do in a Celtic jersey and an Irish jersey.”
McAvennie was clear that Idah needs to take more responsibility, especially for the Republic of Ireland.
“He’s got to step up and be the man for the Republic of Ireland. They’re not the best team in the world, so as a striker, he’s got to start holding up the ball, he can’t keep letting it bounce off him. He needs to help his teammates, and I think he needs to do that at Celtic as well.”
McAvennie concluded: “He’ll need to get fitter, and then we’ll see the best of him.”