Celtic's cotton wool order will be princely as Scottish football waves goodbye to characters

Rodgers left light at No 9 and Idah is in need of protection

What’s that big ball of white fluffy stuff that’s being delivered to Celtic Park in time for tomorrow’s clash with Dundee?

It’s the cotton wool Brendan Rodgers has ordered to wrap around Adam Idah as the big striker goes from handy to have around to being utterly indispensable to Celtic’s hopes at home and abroad in the coming weeks and months.

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With 80 odd million pounds sitting in the bank, the Parkhead club can afford the best on the market – 100 per cent organic, thick and silky and able to protect one’s most prized possessions. In this case a 6ft 2in striker. Whatever is leftover can plug the holes in the stadium caused by storm Eowyn - canny, eh?

Adam Idah is Celtic's only recognised senior No 9 option.Adam Idah is Celtic's only recognised senior No 9 option.
Adam Idah is Celtic's only recognised senior No 9 option. | SNS Group

Celtic still haven’t plugged the gap left by Kyogo Furuhashi, that’s for sure. Sticking with one senior striker, albeit having recalled Jonny Kenny from Shamrock Rovers, is an interesting strategy given their upcoming schedule. They have four games in ten days, all at Celtic Park. The one that sticks out amid clashes with Dundee, Raith Rovers and Dundee United is of course Bayern Munich, a week tomorrow. Being without Kyogo, who was sold over a week ago, is bad enough ahead of this Champions League knockout phase play-off assignment.

But imagine the sharp intake of breath each time Idah goes in for a challenge or else is buffeted from the back by a Dundee defender at Parkhead in Wednesday’s rearranged game. They cannot afford to lose him for the clash with the Germans, particularly given Daizen Maeda, the livewire forward who could be deployed through the middle, is suspended after being sent off against Young Boys. Idah proved his worth that night with a double in the 4-2 defeat. It nevertheless seems like the sort of negligence wearily familiar to fans as Celtic head into the second half of the season looking lighter than they were in the first half.

That’s not what Brendan Rodgers will have desired. Indeed, he stressed as recently as the weekend that a club like Celtic should leave a transfer window stronger than they were when they went into it. Despite Jota's much vaunted return, it’s difficult to see how that could be claimed was the case at 11pm last night.

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Even Celtic seemed a little reticent about pushing out news of what amounted to their big deadline day bit of business. No disrespect to Jeffrey Schlupp, but a 32-year-old utility player from Crystal Palace, particularly one who's been utilised so little of late by the London club, wasn't what the faithful were staying up for.

These fans were eager for a Kieran Tierney update at least. Although already confirmed to be coming back in the summer, it was hoped Tierney's unused status on the bench for Arsenal against Manchester City on Sunday might have hinted at an earlier than planned switch to Parkhead.

Schlupp's arrival on loan was confirmed by the Celtic X account at 11.01 pm. It was tin hat time for the social media manager. Of course, it was not he or she who was in the fans’ sights. Rather, the Celtic hierarchy got it in the neck. "Celtic, my expectations were low, but holy…” You get the drift.

Another clip someone posted was of Rodgers himself from a few weeks ago when he was speaking about receiving criticism from those far less qualified: “You need to hold your tongue…”

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Lyall Cameron will join Rangers from Dundee on a pre-contract.Lyall Cameron will join Rangers from Dundee on a pre-contract.
Lyall Cameron will join Rangers from Dundee on a pre-contract. | SNS Group

Whether he does or not on the question of Celtic’s lack of transfer activity remains to be seen. It’s clear Rodgers was trying to tie down a striker before last night’s deadline, with a move for Sevilla striker Kelechi Iheanacho apparently breaking down over loan terms. If anything, such news will only serve to irritate Celtic fans more. The striker, who worked with Rodgers at Leicester, ended up signing for Championship side Middlesbrough and was unveiled before the defeat to Sunderland last night. His recruitment ought to have been a gimme.

It was quieter than maybe many had expected throughout Scottish football, with the main talking point for Rangers being confirmation of a pre-contract agreement with Dundee midfielder Lyall Cameron . They relayed this information to their fans by way of a simultaneous mid-afternoon announcement with the Dens Park club. Whether such a spirit of togetherness existed in discussions about when to the release the news would be interesting to know.

All it does is leave the talented 22-year-old in an invidious position as he seeks to play out the remaining months of his contract at a club where he will be under even greater scrutiny, starting against Celtic of all teams tomorrow evening – if selected. It is nonetheless easy to understand Rangers’ motivation for wanting to tell fans as soon as possible in the absence of any other signing news from Ibrox.

Elsewhere, Aberdeen did cause a late stir by bringing in Palestinian striker Oday Dabbagh on loan from Charleroi and signing Dutch defender Mats Knoester on a two-and-a-half year deal from Ferencvaros as manager Jimmy Thelin seeks to re-ignite his badly faltering team.

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Shortly before midnight there was also news that Luis ‘Duk’ Lopes had left the club – with Aberdeen’s blessing this time. “His attitude and application since September cannot be faulted,” noted Thelin tactfully, with the winger having only deigned to reappear a few weeks into the season after going AWOL back home in Portugal.

Duk leaves Aberdeen for Leganes.Duk leaves Aberdeen for Leganes.
Duk leaves Aberdeen for Leganes. | SNS Group

Things are looking a lot brighter on the pitch for Hibs and Hearts, which perhaps accounts for the relatively calm deadline days. The latter’s acquisition of Partick Thistle left back Harry Milne did, however, catch the eye and is reward for consistent displays at Firhill and also previously at Cove Rangers. Now 28, was this a Jamestown Analytics-identified target? If so, quite a few regular fans of sides in the Scottish lower divisions could have pointed Hearts in Milne’s direction too.

As for Hibs, it was sad if unsurprising to see the departure of striker Harry McKirdy, following a trying chapter at Easter Road. A heart condition completely derailed him. He leaves for English League Two side Bromley having not broken his goalscoring duck for Hibs but with the best wishes of all.

Another departure to note on transfer deadline day is that of Billy Pirie, with Dundee announcing the death of their prolific former striker at the age of 75. Pirie scored a phenomenal 106 goals in 138 games between 1976 and 1980 and was regarded by Dundee fans as their version of Gerd Muller. Their only wish is that he was leaving on loan.

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