Celtic’s astronomical scoring statistics continue.
Sunday’s 2-0 Scottish Cup victory over Hibernian means Brendan Rodgers’ side have already scored 128 goals across all competitions this season.
With up to 11 games to go, they’re unlikely, to put it mildly, to break the club record of 196 set in 1966/67, but a sixth treble in nine seasons is very much within their grasp.
So, even though the Hoops aren’t exactly finding goals hard to come by, could they regret selling a ‘prolific’ striker who is continuing to impress since departing?
Adam Idah's Celtic career in numbers
By virtue of scoring a 90th-minute winner in last season’s Scottish Cup Final against Rangers, irrespective of what else he achieves, Adam Idah has already cemented his place in Celtic folklore.
This came at the end of the Irishman’s loan spell from Norwich, during which he scored nine goals, thereby convincing the Celtic hierarchy to spend a huge £9.5m to secure his services permanently last summer.
Well, by slotting home the second against Hibs on Sunday, Idah took his tally to 14 for the campaign, most notably bagging a quick-fire brace at Villa Park in the Champions League, despite the fact he’s yet to cement himself as the undisputed first-choice centre-forward.
However, did Celtic sell a striker for less than half Idah’s fee, who may have performed even better?
Celtic may have sold an upgrade on Idah
During Ange Postecoglou’s two seasons at Celtic, he signed no fewer than 29 players, with Alison Conroy of Sky Sports noting that the Australian utilised his knowledge of ‘rarely explored’ markets, most notably those in Far East Asia.
Six Japanese players arrived at Parkhead under Postecoglou, who similarly believed there was value in the K-League, thereby signing striker Oh Hyeon-gyu from Suwon Samsung Bluewings in January 2023, for a reported fee of £2.5m.
Oh arrived to replace Giorgos Giakoumakis, quickly establishing himself as something of a super-sub.
The South Korean scored 12 goals for the Hoops, ten of which came off the bench, unable to usurp cult hero Kyōgo Furuhashi in the starting lineup.
So, after 18 months in Glasgow, in search of more regular game time, Oh joined Jupiler Pro League side Genk for a reported fee of £4.5m last summer, representing a decent profit for Celtic.
Dimitri De Condé, who is Genk’s director of football, said that Oh possesses “a nose for goal”, adding that he is “quick” and that he boasts a “strong presence in the box”, while Owen Brown of the Athletic described him as ‘prolific’.
Well, so far, they’ve both been proved right, given that the 23-year-old has nine goals to his name this season, most recently coming off the bench, in trademark fashion, to snatch victory against FCV Dender in the tenth minute of injury time on Saturday.
Partially thanks to this goal, de Smurfen remain nine points clear at the top of the table, chasing their first league title in six seasons, so let’s assess how Oh and Idah compare.
Appearances
47
31
61
Minutes
1,317
662
2,604
Goals
12
9
23
Minutes per goal
109.75
73.56
113.22
Assists
0
2
3
Of course, as the table outlines, Idah has scored 23 times since joined Celtic last January, while Oh has bagged 21 goals since his own arrival in Glasgow.
Nevertheless, given the fact that both are often asked to make an impact off the bench, it’s noteworthy that Oh’s minute-per-goal ratio at both Celtic and now at Genk is significantly higher than Idah’s, with the Korean on target every 73 and a half minute in Belgium.
Also, on a domestic basis at least, Oh is scoring goals at a higher level.
According to Global Football Rankings, the Jupiler Pro League is the eighth-strongest division in the world, with the SPFL Premiership down in 43rd place, while the UEFA coefficient rankings also has Belgium’s top-flight six places higher than Scotland’s.
So, did Celtic really need to sign Idah for £9.5m, when they could have simply kept Oh, rather than selling him for £4m?
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