NO TAKING CHANCES – As angry Rodgers set to destroy Hibs by unleashing £23k-p/w Celtic dynamo

NO TAKING CHANCES – As angry Rodgers set to destroy Hibs by unleashing £23k-p/w Celtic dynamo

Celtic are back in action in the Scottish Premiership, travelling out from Parkhead to face Hibernian this evening.

The Hoops have dropped points in six of their 24 league games this season, most recently against Aberdeen.

The Dons took the lead thanks to an initial goal from Bojan Miovski,

who had been linked with a move to Glasgow before the January transfer window.

However, Brendan Rodgers’ team eventually found an equaliser when Nicolas Kuhn scored his first goal for the club in the second half, making it 1-1.

Despite chances at both ends, neither club was able to score the winning goal, and Celtic was held to a draw for the fourth time in the league this season.

Following a disappointing outcome in which the Hoops failed to secure all three points,

Rodgers may try to make some changes to his team to cause Hibs problems.

With this in mind, the Northern Irish manager must unleash Adam Idah from the start for his full Celtic debut,

as the tall centre-forward could frighten the opponents with both his physicality and his ability in place of Kyogo Furuhashi.

Kyogo’s troubles this season.

The Japan international has been able to recreate his incredible form from the 2022/23 season,

as he is now on a run of three goals in 14 games across all competitions for the Scottish giants.

He scored an astonishing 27 goals in 31 Premiership starts under Ange Postecoglou, who left to join Tottenham Hotspur last season.

This season, the 29-year-old striker has eight goals in 24 league games for the Bhoys,

averaging one every 212 minutes – much lower than his previous average of one per 86 minutes.

He struggled against Aberdeen as the lone striker for the majority of the encounter,

until Idah entered to offer a focal point for  provide him with a foil to play off.

Kyogo Furuhashi	Vs Aberdeen (via sportviewers)
Minutes played	90
Shots	Three
Shots on target	Zero
Pass accuracy	50%
Key passes	Zero

As shown in the table above, the former Vissel Kobe whiz played the entire 90 minutes

without recording a single shot on target or creating an opportunity for his teammates,

demonstrating his lack of effect in the final third.

FFC recently published an article claiming that Idah and Kyogo could form an exciting top-end pairing,

but with Hyeon-gyu Oh still away with South Korea,

Celtic require at least one senior striker to come off the bench at the moment,

so starting both may not be viable until their third centre-forward option becomes available.

Therefore, Rodgers should ditch the Japanese forward and seat him on the bench tonight evening to offer

the Ireland international to showcase his quality from the start.

The on-loan Norwich City forward made his Celtic debut in the 59th minute against Aberdeen, after joining the club on deadline day.

It only took four minutes for the young jewel to make his impact on the game,

as he swiftly and wisely latched onto the ball and twisted in the box before

laying it off for Kuhn to score via a deflection into the bottom corner.

Idah created two more chances for his teammates and was unfortunate

not to get a second assist when Matt O’Riley smashed a shot off the post,

after a magnificent first-time ball through to the Danish magician.

The £23k-per-week dynamo produced three opportunities and won all of his aerial duels (2/2) in just 31 minutes against the Dons.

Only Luis Palma (3.3) had made three or more critical passes per match in the squad,

and Idah did so in just over a third of the game.

Along with his creative abilities, the 22-year-old forward, whom Rodgers described as having “huge potential” in the video below,

is also a goal-scoring machine.

The Norwich academy graduate scored six goals with an xG of 5.83 in 28 Championship games during the first half of the season, albeit starting only 12 of them.

This demonstrates his ability to capitalise on opportunities in the box,

implying that Idah could benefit from the assistance that Palma and Kuhn can give out wide.

Standing at 6 feet 3 and with pace to burn, the Ireland international might scare Hibs with his physical characteristics,

creativity, and clinical finishing in front of goal, as he appears to be the whole package of a modern-day centre-forward.

Celtic’s Creative Wingers

Rodgers may unleash two fantastic creators on either wing for the Hoops this evening,

providing a continual danger and creating numerous opportunities for the Norwich loanee to score.

To begin, Palma has been a terrific acquisition since his move from Aris last summer,

and has swiftly acclimated to life in Scotland with his consistent quality in the final third.

In 19 Premiership games for the Scottish giants, the 24-year-old wizard has scored five goals,

assisted nine times, and created 12 ‘big chances’, with 3.3 critical passes per game.

No other Celtic player in the division has generated more than seven ‘big chances’ for their teammates this season,

demonstrating Palma’s exceptional ingenuity, as he can consistently create massive gaps for his fellow strikers.

Kuhn, meanwhile, spent the first part of the season with Rapid Wien in the Bundesliga,

where he demonstrated his creative abilities, as seen in the table below.

23/24 Bundesliga	Nicolas Kuhn (via sportviewers)
Appearances	16
Key passes	29
Big chances created	11
Assists	Five

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