All eyes will be trained on one man this weekend at Celtic Park.

For once it won't be Kyogo Furuhashi or Matt O'Riley or even Brendan Rodgers himself. Nope, that honour belongs to the £9.5 million man Republic of Ireland and Celtic striker Adam Idah. It's official Idah is a Celtic player. Did anybody ever doubt, he would be? O ye of little faith.

Idah's long-awaited homecoming will take place on Sunday at Parkhead against Hibernian in the League Cup as Rodgers' men go in search of the one piece of silverware the club meekly surrendered last season at the first time of asking in a horror show at Rugby Park against Kilmarnock.

An injury to Japanese talisman Kyogo had the Celtic supporters running around with their heads on fire last weekend, especially after his replacement Mikey Johnston also left the field injured. The 23-year-old attacker is at long last in the building ready to pick up from where he left off last season after his nine goals from January onwards propelled Celtic to a Scottish Premiership and Scottish Cup double.

Never fear, Idah is here.

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Rodgers said: "As if by magic! I’m absolutely delighted. People talk about transfer fees and everything else - this is a guy who paid that last year. I’m delighted for him because I think that he’s got huge potential and he showed that last season.

"I was so relaxed when he signed because I knew what his talent was. What you never know sometimes in recruitment is mentality. I think what I have seen in my time here is that he proved to me that he has that big-club mentality. I wanted to do everything that I could - and I thank the board for reaching out and getting Adam here - because I think that over the next two to three years he can really flourish and show all of the quality that he has.

"He’s in an environment where he will improve, he’s shown he can deal with pressure in big moments and I’m really excited for him and for the supporters and team. We’ve got someone back who can help us going forward."

The player revealed that the humungous transfer fee won't be an albatross around his neck. His manager feels the same. Rodgers believes that Idah has already repaid the multi-millions by scoring the goals that guaranteed Celtic entry into the Champions League league phase proper. Now Rodgers can't wait to see what value will be placed upon the players in two years. He also reiterated his plan to have two number-one strikers occupying the number-nine role for Celtic.

Horses for courses? You best believe it. The Irishman said: "You can never win, can you? You don’t spend money, you do spend money or you spend too much money. We’ve got a great deal, and I know the player that we have here. It’s just the case of getting him moving in the direction that I believe he can get to.

"He has all the talent, 6 foot 3, quick and strong, his touch is good and he can score goals. Like I said, he has big moments in big games. For me, there are still areas where he can improve, of course, but you expect that as a young player. I do think whatever money we paid for him, he’s worth every single penny of it. He’ll be worth a lot more than that in 24 months.

"I’ll make it clear that I see both of them as number-one strikers. Kyogo in his time here has been brilliant, he has started the season really well. You cannot rely on someone to play to the highest level 55-60 games a season. We want to go deep in as many competitions as we can. That will take us to that number of games. You can’t have just one striker to do that.

"I felt that I wanted another guy who I could call a number-one striker. That’s what I feel I have, it just depends on the game, the energy, the team and the circumstances around the fixture list. Having those two is a big asset for us."

Idah's capture is a sure-fire sign yet that the club means business. Yet as the August 30th transfer deadline looms Rodgers insists there is still so much to do. It's all about the risk and reward for the Irishman. He revealed that he is targeting signings in the Idah and Nicolas Kuhn ilk as they have speed and power which is vital for the club if they are going to be successful in the new Champions League format.

(Image: Craig Foy - SNS Group)

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The 51-year-old explained: "I think for supporters and you look at it from their perspective then what they want from the club is two things. One, is your club well run? So, there is no doubt that Celtic is super well run as a club. The organisation is very good. Two, supporters want to have the best team possible on the pitch. That allows them to skip back to each game and be really excited about watching their team.

"I always think that's the challenge. That is our challenge. To get to the end of this window and have the very best team that we can possibly have on the field. That's what we want. That's what the Celtic supporters want. Hopefully, we can do that. I say hope, I want us to be able to do that.

"It is the attitude to risk. You can sign a player for one or two million and you might sell them for 10 million. You can buy a player at seven or eight million and sell him for thirty or forty million. It's the same thing. It is all about trusting the process and the team of people who work really hard and allow me to get the players in. The Celtic supporters are deserving of that.

"What they invest worldwide in this team in terms of merchandise and everything is incredible. It is our duty to try and get the best team we possibly can on the field. That inspires them to come and watch their team. That's what we try to do with the style of football that we play but that will always be elevated by the level of player that you have. That is our notion over the final weeks of the window to look to have a really strong team.

"I think I've said before but, for example, if you spend £18 million, and you spend it on nine players, I would hope there's a possibility to spend 18 on three players. Our model is to bring in young players to develop and improve, but you can bring young players in to develop and improve but at a higher level and then you know a little bit more of what you're getting maybe and there's maybe a higher ceiling. You might be able to bring in one more or two more at that level. I think we can do that, it's just about getting the right player.

"If you look at Adam (Idah) and Nicolas Kuhn in particular then two of the key attributes they possess are power and speed. At that level, it is very important. You can have all the tactical ideas in the game and whatnot but at that level speed and power alongside the technique. That is certainly some of the attributes we would look at in the players we bring in."

The one blip on Celtic's campaign last season was the concession of the League Cup trophy on that fateful August day at Rugby Park. Rodgers' Celtic have come a long way since then. A very long way. It still irks him though that the club coughed up a piece of silverware that shattered his unblemished record of never having lost in a cup competition during his spells as Celtic boss.

Rodgers said: "We were disappointed last season and I think I mentioned it before from my first season I sort of had a ball and chain wrapped around me in terms of winning trophies and everything else. That probably allowed us to break free from that in an indirect way even though we would love to have won it.

"Certainly from that point, we have progressed and developed. The team is in a much better place now. My compass is always looking at training. I look this season at how we've been training and how we've been working and we've been able to take that onto the games.

"This is the next game and it is the most important one. We want to get through. There is no doubt, I've always said it and we should set that mentality and target that we want to win every trophy. That is something we know we have to work very hard to do. That starts on Sunday.

"I enjoyed winning the League Cup the first time I was up here. It brings a nice edge early on in the season rather than having to wait until later on in the campaign to win trophies. I thought it was really good. It is an opportunity for you to get your hands on a trophy and be a great part of the history of this club. We want to challenge in every competition that we are in. This is our first one here and I am excited by it."

Rodgers wants the League Cup trophy to come back home. A glorious debut from Idah on his Celtic Park second homecoming on Sunday could very well see that reality move a step closer.