Idah back with point to prove after injury torment

Adam Idah says he is intent on igniting his Swansea City career after overcoming his injury struggles and taking time to settle at his new club.

The striker joined the Championship side from Celtic last summer for an initial fee of £6m – making him the most expensive signing ever made by the club when not in the Premier League.

But foot and hamstring injuries have restricted the 25-year-old to just five Championship starts in his debut season at the Swansea.com Stadium.

“Not many people know, I fractured my foot when I just signed, so that was tough,” the forward told BBC Sport Wales.

“And then obviously with the hamstring, it’s not been the easiest of journeys so far here, but I’m enjoying it now and it’s great to be back.”

The Republic of Ireland forward added: “It was tough, I’ve been through it before, and to be fair, at first I thought it was going to be a lot worse than what it was. The staff were amazing with me.

“They kept me sane throughout the whole process. I dug deep, I worked really hard and everyone helped me, so it’s a nice feeling to be back.”

In addition to having two separate injuries, Idah initially struggled to find a new home in Swansea after moving to south Wales in the final stages of the 2025 summer transfer window.

“It was a tough period. It wasn’t easy when I first came. I couldn’t get a house for months and I think they are the things that people don’t understand,” he said.

“There’s a lot of things going on behind the scenes with footballers and I struggled with that, not being able to live somewhere, living in a hotel and moving from Airbnb to Airbnb.

“It was a difficult period and with the injuries it’s not nice.

“But to be fair this club is like a family club, everyone helped me through it and thankfully I’m back now.”

Idah did not feature in 17 successive league matches after sustaining a hamstring injury over the Christmas period.

But on the back of twice representing Republic of Ireland during the March international break, the frontman starred on his return to club action.

Idah scored just five minutes after being summoned from the bench in addition to registering an assist for Eom Ji-Sung as Swansea came from 3-1 down to earn a 3-3 draw against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.

“It was a nice way to come back for my first game in a long time. It’s a credit to everyone that helped me come back,” he added.

“It was frustrating being out for quite a while, and the international games last week, it was nice to get some minutes there.

“Obviously they were not great with the results but to come back and play for Swansea and be back with the boys again was brilliant, and then to top it off with a goal and an assist was nice.”

Idah’s strike against the Blades was his fourth goal in a stop-start debut campaign at Swansea.

Following their draw with Chris Wilder’s outfit, Vitor Matos’ side sit 16th in the second tier table – 11 points adrift of the play-off places and 13 points clear of the relegation zone with six matches remaining.

Despite seemingly being destined for a mid-table finish, Idah hopes – on both a personal and collective level – to finish the season strongly as Swansea look to build ahead of what will be Matos’ first full season at the helm in 2026-27.

“I know what I’m capable of and the fans probably haven’t seen that yet, which is probably the most frustrating thing for me,” he explained.

“I came here as a big signing and I’ve not produced what I wanted to yet, and I don’t want to give excuses with injuries because I’ve been there before.

“We’ve got six games left. Hopefully I can show what I can do and come into next season with a fresh start.

“I know some people say there’s not a lot to play for this season but for us it’s everything. We want to finish on a high and start next season with some confidence coming into it.”

‘Unbelievable’ Zan’s the man

Striker Zan Vipotnik joined Swansea City from Bordeaux in the summer of 2024 [Huw Evans Picture Agency]

In Idah’s absence, Zan Vipotnik has shone for Swansea this term.

The Slovenia international – the Championship’s top scorer this season – notched his 18th league goal of the campaign from the penalty spot in the draw with Sheffield United.

And Idah says the 24-year-old has been a joy to train and play with.

“He’s been fantastic. He’s a great guy. He’s unbelievable to play with and to have as a team-mate,” Idah said of Vipotnik.

“A lot of people will probably think two players in the same position don’t like each other, but he’s unbelievable and he deserves all the credit he gets.

“He works unbelievably hard in training and in the games. The goals he scores are brilliant. So I’m so happy for him and for him to be part of us. Hopefully we’ll see a bit more from him next year.”

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