BRENDAN RODGERS needed just TEN seconds to realise Kouassi Eboue was the perfect fit for Celtic.
The Hoops boss is awaiting Home Office clearance on a work permit for the 19-year-old midfielder to join the champions with terms agreed on a £2.8 million move from Russian outfit FC Krasnodar.
Rodgers admitted he knew almost instantly when watching Philippe Coutinho and Raheem Sterling during his days at Liverpool that the duo were the real deal.
And he revealed he got the same feeling about Eboue.
He said: “He is one of those young players I look at with the same feeling I had as when I saw a young Coutinho or a young Sterling.
“This boy has that. Within 10 seconds you see his talent.
“He is one, obviously, the scouting team have been aware of and most coaches see something in a player that suits their way of working.
“But there are certain attributes in a young player you can see and you get a good feeling.
“I had a feeling when I saw Stuart Armstrong in the Motherwell game. That was the first time I really saw him play.
“I never saw him at Dundee United, but I had a feeling when I came in he was a player with special talent.
“Eboue’s a big talent and, if he arrives on board and everything is good, this is a great chance for him to flourish.”
There are stil a limited number of copies of That Season in Paradise – Ten Months of Celtic Heaven signed by Lisbon Lion Bertie Auld available from www.cqnbookstore.com
