Musonda tipped to flourish for Hoops
a Ladbrokes Premiership game against St Johnstone towards the end of the 2017/18 campaign.
“I have known Charly since he was 12,” said Boyata from Celtic’s pre-season training base outside Linz in Austria.
“He is a very talented player. I have seen him play so many times and I can tell you he is a very good player.
“I think he needs some time to play and show what he can do. But he is a player who can confirm all the hype around him.
“He is a very skilful player who can play as a winger or as a No.10. He is very talented around the ball, he has very good touches.
“He is small, but quick for his size. He is one who wants to show what he can do. I don’t want to compare, but I can guarantee he is a very good player. He is unbelievable.
“The last time I saw him play was on TV and he helped Betis to win the game. Today when they talk about the future of the national team his name is always there.
“The hype around him has been confirmed by the fact he is playing for Chelsea.”
Boyata added: “I saw him last season because he came to watch a game against St Johnstone at Celtic Park when we won 4-1.
“I saw him at the stadium because he came to watch the game and I saw him at the airport as well because we were on the same flight.
“I guess he came to watch a game I think, but I don’t know anything else.
“He seemed impressed with what he saw. He was very happy with the style and the way we played.”
Celtic have a track record of developing young players with raw potential, with Rodgers having been inundated with calls from the agents of aspiring professionals as a result of the success of Moussa Dembele, whom he signed for just £500,000 from Fulham, and Musonda is believed to consider a move to Parkhead to be a shrewd career move.
He attracted interest from Barcelona, Manchester City, Manchester United and Real Madrid when he was 15, but signed for Chelsea in 2012 along with his two older brothers Lamisha and Tika.
Musonda hasn’t featured in the first team at Stamford Bridge, but he did well during a loan spell with Real Betis last year.
Win AUSTRIA WITH CELTIC HEN Dedryck Boya ta arranged to train with the kids at a youth academy on the outskirts of Brussels one summer eight years ago, he was simply hoping to improve his fitness ahead of his return to Manchester City for pre-season.
Instead of sweating off a few unwanted pounds, however, he found himself being mesmerised by the uniquely gifted 12-year-old who was working out alongside him and spent the entire session enquiring about who he was. The youngster who so captivated the centre-half that day was Charly Musonda – t he Chelsea midfielder who Celtic are on the verge of signing.
Not surprisingly given his knowledge of a player who is considered by many in his homeland to be the future of Belgian football, he is excited at the prospect of Musonda joining him at the Scottish champions now.
“I can tell you the story about how I know him,” said Boyata. “It was the holidays. I came back to Belgium to get ready for pre-season. In the north of Brussels there is an academy and I went there one day to train with the under-12s and under-13s with my friend. I was already thinking about going back to pre-season training with Man City. I needed to train really hard. He was there and I trained him with him.
“I was much older than him. I was 18 at the time. But he was unbelievable. I kept asking who he was.
“I played with his older brothers (Lamisha and Tika) for the under-21 national team. He was playing for Anderlecht at the time and went on to sign for Chelsea.”
No first-team opportunities at Stamford Bridge have arisen since Musonda moved there aged 15 in 2012 and he is now looking for a move that will kickstart his career after a loan spell at Real Betis in Spain last year. Celtic have been successful in signing players with a similar profile to the Belgian – young, with enormous potential, and in need of competitive football – in recent years and manager Brendan Rodgers is excited about the possibility of him arriving.
SO, too, is Boyata. He hasn’t spoken to his compatriot, who is under contract with the English champions until 2019 and will cost in the region of £5million to capture, about the prospective switch.
But he will have nothing but positive things to tell him if and when he does.
Asked if he knew anything about the interest in his friend, he replied: “Well, I saw him. He hasn’t really told me anything because in his position players don’t really want to be talking about stuff if it’s not confirmed.
“If he asks I will say it’s a great place to be. Lately for me Celtic has been very good and if anyone asks me my situation today I can only be positive.
“The Champions League nights are unbelievable. For myself I think everyone should see that experience.
“You need to be at Celtic Park on Champions League night. But I can tell you that I’ve told him that already.” Celtic have made huge sums of