'For whatever reason': Brendan Rodgers breaks silence on Celtic striker hunt and makes big admission

Republic of Ireland hitman Idah scored more than 20 goals for Rodgers at Celtic during an 18-month spell in Glasgow. He originally arrived on loan from Norwich City and his move was made permanent last summer in a £9 million transfer.

Idah found it hard to hit the goal trail this term and was sold for £6m to Swansea City after the English Championship club approached Celtic late in the window. The Scottish champions identified Kasper Dolberg of Anderlecht as a potential replacement, only for the 27-year-old Dane to move back to his formative club Ajax after they hijacked the transfer.

This left Celtic frantically searching for a new No 9 and in the end, they landed 28-year-old Nigerian Kelechi Iheanacho on a free transfer after his release from Sevilla. Rodgers has previously worked with him during their time together at Leicester City.

The chase for reinforcements in Celtic’s forward line has dominated the agenda all summer. As well as the arrival of Iheanacho, the club also brought in wingers Michel-Ange Balikwisha and Sebastian Tounekti for a combined fee of £10m - although both players arrived after the Champions League qualification defeat by Kairat Almaty.

“I don't really want to go so much into the depths of how it all came about,” Rodgers said on what occurred with his strikers on deadline day. “Adam was a player that hadn't asked to leave and wasn't wanting to leave. But then the opportunity came where Swansea wanted him around the same time as other possibilities that could have happened for us.

“We didn't want to lose him. But when the opportunity came for him and Swansea agreed the deal, then it looked like there was maybe going to be one out and one coming in. It didn't work that way for whatever reason. We had to move on. Thankfully, at the end of the window when it was closed, there was a player that was available and who I know very, very well.

“Kels is a player who was brilliant for me at Leicester. I know him well and I only want to take in someone here who is robust and has genuine talent. If I can get that out of him again, he can be a big plus for us.

“Adam made a really good contribution in lots of big moments here at his time. He still scored 20-odd goals for Celtic, which is no mean feat. But he moved on and we've now got Kels in and we've got some wingers on the side as well.”