Loan signings Edson Braafheid and Diomansy Kamara have an eye on prizes

TONY Mowbray may have a grand plan for Celtic but he is not completely opposed to indulging in a bit of short-termism to achieve it. The arrival of Dutch left-back Edson Braafheid and Senegalese striker Diomansy Kamara at the club on five-month loan deals yesterday were testimony to that.

• Edson Braafheid (left) and Diomansy Kamara

Braafheid has joined from Bayern Munich, where he was unable to command a regular first-team place, with the blessing of his national team coach Bert van Marwijk, as he tries to secure his place in the Netherlands squad for this summer's World Cup finals.

Kamara, well known to Mowbray from their time together at West Bromwich Albion, moved from Fulham where he was deemed surplus to requirements by manager Roy Hodgson. The 29-year-old front man's move includes the option of a permanent three year contract being concluded at the end of this season.

While Mowbray has been monitoring Kamara's situation for some time, the temporary recruitment of Braafheid came as a bonus for the Celtic manager who had not initially planned to sign another left-back following the sale of Danny Fox to Burnley.

It could be a mutually beneficial arrangement if Braafheid can successfully fill what has been a problematic position for Celtic. The 26-year-old joined Bayern Munich from Twente Enschede in a 2.5 million deal last summer but has found himself on the fringes of Louis van Gaal's squad, putting his place in the Dutch World Cup squad in jeopardy.

Capped five times for his country, Braafheid was an unused substitute when Van Marwijk's men ended Scotland's World Cup hopes with victory at Hampden last summer. Now he hopes Glasgow will be the place where he re-ignites his career after receiving a glowing testimony of his new workplace from Celtic striker Marc-Antoine Fortune who was a team-mate at his first club Utrecht.

"This has all happened very quickly, since I got the first call at the weekend saying Celtic were interested in me," said Braafheid. "I phoned Marco right away and he told me it is a great club with a nice stadium and some of the best supporters around.

"I also called Bert van Marwijk and explained my situation to him. He also said it would be a good step for me to come to Celtic. A few Dutch players have played here in the past and van Marwijk felt it would be positive for me.

"I need to play games and they need to be at a good level. That's why Celtic suits me. It had become difficult at Bayern Munich. In the beginning, I was playing a lot, but it was during a period when the team wasn't playing well or winning many games.

"But it is especially important for me that I play enough games this season to make it to the World Cup. That's why I made this choice."

Braafheid is under contract at Bayern until 2013 but is open to the prospect of a permanent move to Celtic if the possibility presents itself.

"For now, it is just temporary, but if things go well on both sides, you never know," he said.

"It's not just about coming here, playing games and leaving again. Every time I play for a club, I want to win prizes. There are two prizes Celtic can still win this season and my goal is very clear to help them do that."

Asked what Celtic supporters can expect of him, Braafheid replied: "First I defend, that is important. It's my job to stop the attackers and try to play the possession game Celtic want. That's my thing. But with a team like Celtic, who have a lot of the ball, a quality of mine is that I can also go with the attack to cross or even score."

Braafheid is not included in the Celtic squad for tonight's SPL fixture against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park, having been given dispensation to return to Munich to finalise some personal affairs, but Kamara could make his debut in the match where victory would cut Rangers' lead at the top of the table to seven points.

The Paris-born Senegal international believes he is being reunited with Mowbray at an optimum period of his career.

"I feel 29 is a good age and although I am on loan just now, I want to be part of the project at Celtic for the next few years," said Kamara. "I had the opportunity to go back to France or stay in England but Tony Mowbray is the biggest reason I chose Celtic. I think I played the best football of my career under him at West Brom.

"I had some bad luck with injuries at Fulham, but I feel so good now. I am strong and ready to play."

"Yes, we are ten points behind Rangers, but we have a game in hand. We also have two games against Rangers and the title will be open if we win them."

Top-flight ins and outs on the final day of the transfer window

ABERDEEN: IN – Steven MacLean (Plymouth, loan); Jim Paterson (Plymouth, loan).

OUT – Lee Miller (Middlesbrough, undisclosed); Chris Maguire (Kilmarnock, loan).

CELTIC: IN – Edson Braafheid (Bayern Munich, loan); Diomansy Kamara (Fulham, loan); Robbie Keane (Tottenham, loan); Paul Slane (Motherwell, undisclosed).

OUT – Scott McDonald (Middlesbrough, undisclosed); Graham Carey (St Mirren, loan).

HEARTS: IN – Ryan Stevenson (Ayr, undisclosed).

OUT – Rocky Visconte (Ayr, loan); Stephen Husband (Blackpool, undisclosed)

HIBERNIAN: IN – Alan Gow (Plymouth, loan)

KILMARNOCK: IN – Scott Severin (Watford, loan); Chris Maguire (Aberdeen, loan); Rob Kiernan (Watford, loan)

MOTHERWELL: IN – Michael McGlinchey (Central Coast Mariners, loan).

RANGERS: OUT – Paul Emslie (Peterhead, loan); Steven Lennon (Lincoln, loan)

ST JOHNSTONE: IN – Mark Connolly (Bolton, loan)

ST MIRREN: IN – Graham Carey (Celtic, loan)