Alan Shearer hails 'huge' Celtic for Idah show of faith, Johnston spills more on Wanyama role – news bulletin

The pundit reckons Idah could be one of Ireland's danger men on Saturday

Alan Shearer reckons Adam Idah is ready to thrive at a 'huge football club' at Celtic - and could be one of the men England have to worry about when they meet in the Nations League.

The Ireland striker joined the Hoops on a permanent in the summer, Parkhead chiefs throwing their weight behind the man who starred for them on loan in the second half of last season. They shelled out around £9m for the hitman who is ready to challenge Kyogo for a starting berth up front.

For now though he's away with Ireland and will take on England in Dublin in Saturday's Nations League clash. Shearer, speaking to Betfair, had plenty of praise for the strike, and Celtic who 'put their neck on the line' to bring him in. He said: "Adam Idah got his permanent move to Celtic in the summer following a successful loan spell last season and this is an amazing opportunity to start against England, in Ireland. He’s played at every level for the Republic of Ireland, so getting that move to a big club like Celtic, is the move he wanted to stay in and around the Ireland team.

"He’ll be relishing the chance to play against England, so what an opportunity for him, what an atmosphere it’s going to be, and we’ll just have to wait and see how he does. I’d imagine he’d be so excited to play in that game.

"Celtic have put their neck on the line for him, they paid a decent fee after what he did last season on loan. It’s a huge football club, he’s playing in a brilliant atmosphere, so it’s an amazing chance for him to succeed in both Scotland and Ireland."

Idah will team up with Liam Scales for Ireland in that one and likened the rivalry between the nations to the one between Celtic and Rangers back in Scotland. The defender admitted that neither is just about football and both come with big atmospheres as a result.

He said: "It's probably never happened before that a player will have Rangers one week and then England the next. So it's as good as it gets. Hopefully we can do as well as we on the weekend against Rangers. I hope we can bring that in with Ireland against England.

"It will be the first one I'll have been involved in. I know we played them a few years ago but it will be hugely important. You know the history and everything that comes with it. The atmosphere will probably be brilliant and I'm really looking forward to it.

“It’s different, playing for Celtic and playing for Ireland. With Celtic we have time to work together every day and get things right. Here it’s got to be everyone in and straight at it, take it all on board as quickly as possible.

“That’s what we are doing, trying to get the information, the way we want to play, bring that into the game on the weekend and hopefully we’ll get a good result. It is a similar sort of intense rivalry, in that it’s not just about football.”

Elsewhere Alistair Johnston has spilled more about Victor Wanyama's role in talking him into a move to Celtic. He said after joining back in January 2023 that his former Montreal teammate had sold him on the switch. And speaking this week he told the Footy Prime Podcast: “Victor was unbelievable. He knew my personality. That’s something I learned, the people who succeed at Celtic and these clubs need to have a big personality.

“I think that he knew deep down that I was the perfect fit for that. When I got his badge of ‘Yeah, he’s the right man for it, you’re the right guy to go there’, that was exciting.”