Celtic secure signing of ‘box to box’ midfielder Benyu from Ipswich

● Teenager signs four-year deal despite not having played in first team for Town

Celtic have completed the signing of 19-year-old midfielder Kundai Benyu from Ipswich Town.

The teenager has agreed a four-year contract and will meet up with his team-mates on their Austrian training camp when he officially joins the club on 1 July. Benyu never played for Ipswich but scored five goals in 23 appearances on loan at Vanarama National League side Aldershot in the second half of last season.

Described as a “box-to-box midfielder” by Celtic, Benyu was linked with Tottenham, West Ham and Aston Villa and his new club say he was “much sought-after by some of England’s top clubs”.

In a statement on Celtic’s website, Benyu said: “I’m absolutely delighted to be joining Celtic. It’s a massive honour to sign for the Scottish champions and one of the world’s truly great clubs.

“It’s also a great opportunity for me to continue to develop as a footballer under Brendan Rodgers.

“I’m looking forward to meeting up with my new Celtic team-mates. I know there’s a lot of hard work ahead of me but I am ready for this, I’m looking forward to the challenge and I can’t wait to get started.”

Benyu was named on the

0 Kundai Benyu: ‘Honoured’. substitutes’ bench several times for Ipswich in the 201415 campaign but he was hit by a knee injury the following season and also temporarily fell out of favour with Mick Mccarthy, admitting himself he “had an attitude problem which put the gaffer off using me”.

Celtic will have to pay compensation to Ipswich after the player rejected a contract offer from the Sky Bet Championship club.

Benyu follows Jonny Hayes in signing for Celtic this summer. The winger moved to the Scottish champions from Aberdeen for a fee in the region of £1.3 million earlier this month.