Ex-Celtic target keen to finish off Dons
SERGIO PADT finally signed for a team that plays in green and white this summer – three years after injury denied him a move to Celtic.
The Groningen goalkeeper, then of Ajax, was a target for Neil Lennon in the summer of 2011 after a series of impressive displays on loan and for Holland’s Under-21s.
Unfortunately for the 24-yearold, just as talks to take him to Celtic Park were about to enter an advanced stage, injury struck, ruling him out for four months.
Lennon turned to Fraser Forster in the aftermath, and Padt signed for Belgian side Gent.
Having won a move back to his homeland with Groningen just three weeks ago, Padt is determined to prove himself worthy of
Panother shot with one of Europe’s big guns.
And he intends to begin doing so immediately – by helping the Eredivisie side dump Aberdeen out of the Europa League.
He said: “I knew about Celtic’s interest at the time. I didn’t talk with the club directly, but I knew they were interested.
“The problem was that at that moment I had an injury. I had been out for four months and it was not so easy for me. I hadn’t played so much, so it was always going to be difficult.
“It might have been exciting, but I now have a new challenge to focus on. I have only been at Groningen for three weeks and I need to focus on this season – then we will see.”
Groningen took a step towards the Europa League group stages with a 0-0 draw against Aberdeen at Pittodrie in Thursday night’s second qualifying round clash.
But with the tie delicately poised at 0-0 ahead of this week’s deciding leg in Holland, Padt remains wary of the Dons, and is cagey about his side’s chances of progression.
“It was a good result for us,” he conceded.
“I wasn’t too busy on Thursday, but it’s not the most important thing that I have to make a lot of saves. We stayed good and compact as a team. Now we have to finish the job this week.”