Elyounoussi lands at Celtic three years late but is ready to play today
Celtic added a £16-million player to their squad – after passing up the chance to sign him for less than £3m three years ago.
Norway winger Mohamed Elyounoussi joined the Hoops on a season-long loan from Southampton, and trained with his new team-mates yesterday.
The 25-year-old is on stand-by to make a dramatic debut in today’s Old Firm match.
He played against Celtic for Molde in 2015, scoring home and away as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side won both games.
His performances attracted the attention of club’s around Europe, and a fee of 3.2m Euros took him to Swiss Super League outfit, Basel.
Parkhead manager Ronny Deila was keen to recruit his fellow countryman, and the player would have been keen on the move. But it didn’t happen
Elyounoussi said: “I knew about Celtic’s interest back then. From what I’ve heard, I was a bit too expensive.
“I can’t confirm that, but it’s what I heard.
“I remember at that time I really wanted to come to Celtic, especially after playing at the stadium.
“The atmosphere was amazing that night – until we scored.
“It was my wish to come to Celtic at that time. I would have signed if I could. But it’s better late than never.
“I had a really good experience against Celtic, a goal and an assist in both games.
“We had a huge respect for Celtic at the time.
“But now I get the chance to do it for Celtic, rather than against them.”
After helping Basel to an eighth league title in a row, Elyounoussi was bought by Southampton for £16m.
He took part in 16 matches for the Premier League side last season, but found himself out of the manager’s plans for this campaign.
He said: “It didn’t start great because I was injured and it took some time to clear up.
“It was my first game, and I got injured when I’d never suffered one in my career before.
“But I got back, then the manager got sacked, a new manager came in – a lot of things went on and it was hard for me to get momentum.
“But I look back and try to learn from it, rather than regret what has happened so far.
“As a player, you want to play more, so that’s why I’m here. I want to get back to where I was.”
The left-sided attacker knows he will have experienced nothing like this afternoon’s clash with Rangers at Ibrox.
It’s an experience he’s looking forward to.
He went on: “I have played derbies before, but I don’t think there is anything like this in Europe.
“In Norway, it was a rivalry between Molde and Rosenborg, more than a real derby. It was a bit friendly, no real fights or hooligans!
“In Basel, it was more about the football as well.
“From what I’ve heard, there’s a lot of history behind everything the two clubs do here, so I’ve not experienced anything like that.”
Like most players, Elyounoussi is anxious to play a part in making some history in football.
He will get the chance to help Celtic make it nine-in-a-row and go for a quadruple Treble.
“I like the pressure of history and going for the title,” he said.
“I can compare it to my time at Basel when they had won the league seven or eight times in a row.
“The pressure was huge from the fans every year – to win the league, the cup and do well in Europe.
“I liked that pressure and the challenge, so that’s why I am here at Celtic. I want to win more titles.
“It will be a challenge for me to get in the team as there is a lot of competition.
“Celtic have scored a lot of goals already this season, and I will try to help when I get my chance.
“I want to score goals and get assists. There are a lot of games and I think the team will rotate.
“Everyone will be kept on their toes.”