Ismaila Soro completes Celtic switch as Ivorian signs four-and-a-half year deal

Ismaila Soro has set his sights on forcing his way into Neil Lennon’s starting line-up as soon as possible after finally completing his £2 million move to Celtic from Israeli club Bnei Yehuda.

Ismaila Soro arrives at Glasgow Airport as he completes his move to Celtic

The Ivorian midfielder’s transfer had been held up by red tape but he arrived in Glasgow on Monday afternoon, almost two weeks after the Scottish champions initially agreed a deal in principle to sign him.

Soro has penned a four-and-a-half year contract after passing a medical last week which was overseen by Celtic’s medical staff in Israel.

The 21-year-old will train with his new team-mates for the first time on Tuesday and hopes to be included in the squad for Wednesday night’s Premiership fixture against St Johnstone at McDiarmid Park.

“I’m confident that I will settle quickly and impress the manager enough to earn the chance to play,” said Soro.

“I want to settle into the team and give everything for the manager in training. I understand that breaking into the team will happen in stages and I’m prepared to be patient as I work towards this.

“I’m going to give absolutely everything to continue the success here at Celtic. I’ll give everything and more to continue the success this club has achieved. The reception here has given me the desire to go and work even harder for the fans, my team-mates and the manager.

“People talk about what you want from a team. I know Celtic will give me everything I want. I am joining a massive club, one of the world’s truly great football clubs with fantastic players, a beautiful history and the best fans around.

“I won’t look ahead too much but I have signed a long term four-and-a-half-year contract and across all these years I want to be part of more and more success at the club.”

Soro left his homeland as a teenager, joining Moldovan club Saxan for a season in 2016 and then moving to Gomel in Belarus the following year. After just six months with Gomel, he moved to Bnei Yehuda for £90,000 in January 2018, winning the Israeli Cup with them last May.

Soro is Celtic’s second recruit of the January transfer window following the £3.4 million capture of Polish striker Patryk Klimala from Jagiellonia Białystok.

Ahead of his arrival in Glasgow, Soro spoke to his fellow Ivorian and now Celtic team-mate, striker Vakoun Bayo, about the club.

“He has told me great things about Celtic and the fans, so I couldn’t be more excited to be here at Celtic,” Soro told the Celtic website.

“I’ve watched a lot of Celtic games recently and I can’t wait to get started here. The stadium is huge and with the reputation of these great fans I know the atmosphere at Celtic Park will be unlike anything anywhere else. The stadium is amazing and I can only imagine how great it will be when it’s full of fans.”