Celtic stint could be the spark Elyounoussi needs

BLACK Friday has nothing on the final hours of the English transfer window. By the time the final ‘t’ had been crossed last month, the Premier League’s till had rung to the tune of £1.4billion. Set against that, what’s a little squabble over a cut-price TV?

These days, Celtic are reduced to the role of envious onlooker amid such a mad shopping spree, even if they did receive £25million from Arsenal’s coffers for Kieran Tierney.

But the three-week gap between the closure of the English window and its Scottish counterpart was always going to be the time when the Parkhead side began trawling the shelves in earnest.

If the most sought-after luxury items were still beyond their budget, Celtic manager Neil Lennon always took comfort from the fact that other valuable commodities would be on offer.

Given that Mohamed Elyounoussi joined Southampton from Basle for £16m a year ago, it would be stretching things to suggest that the Northern Irishman plucked the forward out of the bargain bin.

However, for reasons only his parent club could explain, the 25-year-old Norwegian international had been gathering dust at St Mary’s this term.

This, for Lennon, was always the beauty of leaving so much of the summer transfer work so late. Long after the competition packed up, Celtic took temporary ownership of a player they couldn’t have put their hands on a month previously.

‘I think all players who maybe don’t play or it hasn’t worked out for them at a certain club, (they) can go again,’ he said.

‘He was playing for a big club in Switzerland (Basle) in the Champions League and maybe this change of scenery and environment might reignite him. That’s what we’re hoping anyway.

‘He had a stellar career to the point where he was one of Norway’s best players and then went to Southampton for big money. It didn’t work out for him, that happens.

‘But I don’t think you lose the ability. In him and (Moritz) Bauer we’ve got players with pedigree who are hungry to play and, if not prove a point, then get back to playing at the level they know they’re capable of. It’s up to me to tap into that.’

Joining Celtic just 48 hours before Lennon’s side went to Ibrox for the first Old Firm clash of the season on September 1, Elyounoussi slipped in the back door unnoticed.

Today at Hamilton will be his first chance to announce himself. While quality players being deemed surplus to requirements at Premier League clubs is scarcely a novelty, Lennon feels Elyounoussi has the pedigree to leave Southampton fans perplexed as to his ongoing omission.

‘Technically he’s a good player, he’s smart, a very fit lad. I think he will get goals at this level. He’ll be okay at Europa League level, too,’ added Lennon.

‘He can play right, he can play left and he can play off the striker. He’s not blindingly quick but he’s a good mover, he’s quite lithe and he sees a pass. He’s a decent finisher as well. We’re hoping this will be an opportunity for him to get back to where he was maybe a year or two ago.

‘Maybe he hasn’t lived up to the price tag. He’s played a bit for Southampton in the Premier League but, again, there’s been a change of manager. It doesn’t look like he’s in Ralph Hasenhuttl’s plans. That doesn’t make him a bad player.

‘Having Kris Ajer here is good for him as well, a compatriot to help him settle. Hopefully we’ll get the best out of him.’

Rangers’ response to Celtic’s 2-0 win at Ibrox prior to the international break was emphatic. A £7m outlay on winger Ryan Kent re-emphasised their determination to ensure the Parkhead side’s bid for a ninth straight title is derailed.

‘They’ve bared their teeth a little bit in that regard,’ said Lennon. ‘They think he’s going to make a significant difference to them.’

Asked if Kent’s arrival was purely in reaction to the Celtic defeat, he added: ‘I’ve no idea. You’re asking the wrong guy.’