It’s the business end of the transfer deadline day and Celtic, gearing up for Sunday’s Old Firm derby, are chasing a few more names prior to Monday’s deadline. Neil Lennon has sanctioned an array of new signings already through the course of the summer and Mohamed Elyounoussi of Southampton becomes their latest recruit after Christopher Julien, Hatem Abd Elhamed, Boli Bolingoli-Mbombo, Luca Connell, Moritz Bauer, Jonathan Afolabi, Liam Burt and Fraser Forster.
The club have announced the signing of the 25-year-old Norwegian on a season-long loan. The player, during his time at Molde, featured and scored against the Hoops in a Europa League group stage fixture at Celtic Park. The winger had a blistering spell with Basel too, and that led to a £16m transfer to the South Coast last summer. But the move did not work out as he failed to make any significant contribution in 19 appearances altogether.
Elyounoussi, meanwhile, was delighted to complete the switch to attain more minutes after a difficult start to life in England.
“I like the way Celtic play and I can see myself fitting into that. The season has already started so I need to be spot-on and I’m just looking forward to getting started.”
The attacker told the club who are desperate to defend their domestic supremacy despite Rangers’ resurgence under Steven Gerrard.
What He Will Bring To Celtic
Lennon already had James Forest, Scott Sinclair, Lewis Morgan and Michael Johnston as his first-team options along with Jonny Hayes and Marian Shved who could feature down the wing as well. Yet he opted for the Norwegian due to his experience in the prestigious Champions League, Europa League as well as the Premier League so far in his career.
Elyounoussi has been capped 22 times for his country and is one of their key figures in the attacking third with strong dribbling and holding attributes along with cut insides and crosses from the wide areas. Although he needs to sharpen his finishing and final balls, the composure in Mohamed Elyounoussi’s game would help him return a decent figure in Glasgow at the end of the ongoing term.
Good Move For All Parties Involved?
The arrival of Elyounoussi would send Sinclair further down the pecking order having lost his place already to Johnston early in this campaign. However, there is no option to buy in the deal which is indeed a win-win for the Saints. They would monitor the player’s performance minutely throughout the season before deciding upon whether to retain him or offload in the forthcoming future. The gaffer must deploy the wideman extensively and get the best of him to meet the Hoops’ season goals.
