Celtic are leading the race to sign the “terrible talent” who is the next Adam Idah

fair to say Celtic Tuesday night’s visit to Dens Park was much richer than anyone could have predicted.

When Celtic midfielder Luke McCowan scored the opener against his former club five minutes from time, most assumed the champions would cruise to a comfortable victory in the City of Discovery.

However, Dundee hit back not once, not twice but three times, Cameron Carter-Vickers scorer of an unfortunate own goal just seconds after Yang Hyun-jun had headed the Hoops in front, leaving the visitors needing a 93rd-minute spot-kick from Arne Engels to salvage a draw.

Brendan Rodgers he was clearly furious at full-time, but the two points dropped have no tangible consequences, with Celtic now 16 points clear at the top Scottish Premiershipahead of Rangers’ clash with Aberdeen on Wednesday night.

When asked about news about January transfers after the game by Sky Sports’ Luke ShanleyRodgers said “nothing yet, I’ll probably find out in the next few days”, so could Celts’ first signing of the window be imminent?

Celtic are chasing the highly-rated teenager

As first reported Mark McCadden of the Irish MirrorCeltic are “leading the race” to sign St Patrick’s Athletic striker Mason Melia.

This comes after Melia visited Glasgow last week for talks, having accepted a similar invitation from Tottenham before Christmas, while Serie A side Bologna are also mentioned as “keen” to sign him, with further interest from the Bundesliga and Belgian clubs.

So who is Melia and why is it so sought after?

Mason Melio’s record at the youth level

Still only 17, he has become 54 performances for St Pat’s of the League of Ireland, scoring ten goals to help the Red Army finish third last season.

Back in November 2023, he came off the bench as St Patrick’s Athletic beat fierce rivals Dublin Bohemians 3-1 in the FAI Cup final.

The match was played in front of 43,881 fans at the Aviva Stadium, a record attendance for the final of the Irish Cup, and Melia becomes the youngest player ever to appear in the final of the FAI Cup, at the age of only 16 years and 50 days.

Journalist Conor McEvoy described Melia as a “tremendous talent”, with Mark Gallagher of Extra Ireland believing it to be valued at €1 million (around £835,000), which would break The League of Ireland record, currently held by Liam Scales, who joined Celtic for €600,000 from Shamrock Rovers 2021.

As he noted Football Insiderdue to Brexit regulations, Melia cannot join a British club before his 18th birthday, meaning the move won’t happen until January 2026 at the earliest, but that doesn’t mean Celtic, or anyone else, can’t do a deal now.

How Mason Melia would fit in at Celtic

Should the teenager opt to move to Parkhead, he will face stiff competition for a starting spot among fellow strikers Kyōgo Furuhashi and Adam Idaho.

Idah became an instant Celtic hero by scoring the 90th-minute winner against Rangers in last season’s Scottish Cup final, but has failed to live up to those lofty expectations since moving from Norwich it became permanent, on a huge scale cost £9.5 million.

He was met with harsh criticism Sky Sports pundits Kris Boyd, Neil Lennon and James McFadden after Tuesday’s game, and Boyd said he “doesn’t seem to be the same player” he was last season, adding that he “has to do more.”

So maybe there would be room in the team for Meila to make an impression?

Regardless of current form, Idah, as well as the aforementioned Scales, are simply the latest in a long line of Irish Celtic players, 22 performed for seniors more precisely, some of whom are among the biggest legends of the club.

Some all-time legends are on this list, none other than Pat Bonner, only five players made it more appearances than him in the entire history of the club, while Roy Keane and Robbie Keane are at the other end of the scale of footballing greats, if not as many when in the green and white hoops.

So if Melia does move to the Scottish champions, he will be following in the footsteps of many Irish legends… and Shane Duffy, but we won’t mention him.