Hoops hope to prise Moi Elyounoussi from the Saints on a permanent basis
Celtic are likely to try to land Moi Elyounoussi on a permanent basis in the summer should it be at all possible, John Kennedy has confirmed.
The Norwegian international, up on loan from Southampton, goes into today’s derby with Rangers in prolific form, having hit four goals in his last three games.
“When he finds his groove, Moi is a very important player for us, and I think he’s the calibre you want to try to attract to your club,” said Kennedy.
“Knowing the quality he has got – and when you’ve worked with a player, you get to see them up close – what you see you really like.
“He is one of the best professionals I have worked with. His character and his levels in terms of training and everything he does, are first-class.
“He really looks after his body, and he commits to training and every drill you doeachday.Whenheisonform,heisa very good player.
“In terms of bringing him here longer term, we will have to address that in the summer if it’s a possibility.
“If it is, I’m pretty sure the club will look closely at that.”
Having been with Celtic on loan since August, 2019, Elyounoussi’s liking for life at Celtic Park is not in debate.
Whether the figures can be made to add up – and remember here Southampton paid Basel £16-million when signing him on a five-year deal in 2018 – is the question.
“I will give you my honest answer on that,” said Elyounoussi. “I haven’t thought much about what my future is going to be.
“We still have a few games left to play this season, and my main focus is here on Celtic.
“I want to do my best for the club, and then after the season ends, I will have a think about what I’m going to do and what is best for my own career.
“But at the moment, I really haven’t thought about it.
“Every game is a big game here and the Rangers cup tie will be a great one to be a part of. So I’m looking forward to it.
“I love the confidence the manager has in us, and I feel the same way. But at the same time, we need to make sure we do our talking with our feet out on the pitch.
“That is the most important thing for Sunday.
“It’s important to win the trophy. In recent games against Rangers, we have been the better team.
“In the end, it comes down to what we do out on the pitch. We need to make sure we win it.
“It may be like any other game. But, in the back of our minds, it’s about the Cup and the trophy.”
While the bookmakers make Rangers clear favourites to progress to the next round, Elyounoussi is bullish about Celtic’s chances.
“Both myself and the team are going into this game with a high degree of confidence, especially after the last game against Livingston,” he said.
“We have been working hard, and the training this week has been superb.
“You could see a result like the one we had at Livingston was coming. You could see it over the last few games.
“You could see it during the training sessions, and the only thing which was missing was taking our chances in front of goal.
“We had been creating a lot of chances, but we couldn’t finish them off. Things weren’t going our way in front of goal.
“But we knew that would change sooner rather than later, and that is what happened against Livingston.
“Against Rangers, we know we need to create the chances, and be ruthless when it comes to taking them.
“If we can do that while preventing them playing their game, then we can get the win we all want.”