Adli grateful to Jullien for helping kick-start his career

AMINE ADLI, the Bayer Leverkusen forward who is set to start up front in the Europa League match against Celtic in the BayArena tonight, has revealed the role Parkhead centre-half Christopher Jullien had in launching his career.

Adli moved from Toulouse in his native France to Leverkusen in a €15 million transfer in August and has established himself as a regular starter in Gerardo Seoane’s side during the 2021/22 season.

The 21-year-old netted in the final minute of the Group G match in Glasgow in September as the visitors romped to a 4-0 triumph and scored the winner in a Bundesliga game against Bochum on Saturday.

The winger, who has been switched to striker by his Swiss manager Seoane in the absence of the injured Czech Republic internationalist Patrik Schick, trained alongside Jullien when he was starting out in the game.

He is indebted to the defender, who has been sidelined since suffering a knee injury in a game against Dundee United last December, for the encouragement and support he received and expressed hope he is back in action soon.

“I know him from Toulouse,” he said. “When I was young I trained with the professional squad sometimes when he was there.

“What can I say? He is a good defender, good with his head – better than me for sure! He is a really good guy, good with the young players. When I was training with the first team in Toulouse he helped me every time. He is a good professional.

“I hope he will be back soon and will be back stronger and better than he was in the past. We speak together on social media so he knows what I think about him.”