NEW Bhoy Sead Haksabanovic sealed his anticipated switch to Celtic from Rubin Kazan today.
And the 23-year-old Sweden-born winger admitted he was going to have a crack at following in the footsteps of his countryman Henrik Larsson at Parkhead.
Haksabanovic, who has won 28 caps for his adopted nation Montenegro, is thrilled to sign a five-year contract at Ange Postecoglou’s champions and can’t wait to get started.
SWEDE DREAMS…Sead Haksabanovic hopes to follow the example of countryman Henrik Larsson.
The versatile forward, who will wear the No.9 shirt, said: “It feels amazing. What I know about Celtic is only good things and I’m very happy to be here.
“I heard about it around a month ago and as soon as I heard that Celtic wanted me I said to my agent that he had to make it happen because this is where I want to play.
“It’s an amazing club with good players, fans and history.
“I’ve been watching some games and I think the team play in the same style as me.
“I’ve been speaking to the manager, as well, and we had a good chat, speaking about how he sees me as a player and how he wants me to fit into his system and everything sounded good, so that was it for me.”
IN WITH A SHOUT…Sead Haksabanovic hopes to be a roaring success at Parkhead.
Discussing what he can bring to the Hoops, Haksabanovic, speaking to Celtic TV, continued: “I’m a playmaker with some flair, I’m good in one-on-ones, I have a powerful shot, I’m quick and I’ll give everything for this club.
“The team are doing great and I want to be part of that and make the fans, the club and myself happy.
“Of course, I’m very excited to play in the Champions League, it’s the best competition you can play in and that’s a dream for me as a kid, so to see myself playing in that is very cool.”
Born in Halmstads and growing up in Sweden, the player was aware of Celtic history from the number of his compatriots who have previously played for the Glasgow club.
He added: “I know that Henrik Larsson is a big legend here and I know his son really well.
“Hopefully, I can do something similar to him which is very hard to achieve, but I’m going to try my best.
HOORAY HENRIK…Celtic and Swedish legend Henrik Larsson celebrates another strike for the Hoops.
“I know Joe Hart and Albian Ajeti from West Ham and I spent some time with Carl Starfelt in Russia.
“He saw somewhere that I was linked to Celtic and he wrote to me, but I didn’t want to say too much. I just asked him about the club and he only said good things, so I can’t wait to get started now.”
Haksabanovic, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Swedish outfit Djurgardens, had a brief spell at West Ham in 2017 before returning home to sign for IFK Norrkoping.
He moved to Rubin Kazan for a reported £5.4million in July last year. However, according to Russian outlet Sport Business, the financially-stricken club, who lost their top-flight status at the end the season, have been forced to accept a cut-price £1.7million offer from the Hoops.
Now the fans will be hoping to catch a glimpse of their latest purchase, but Sunday’s trip to Tannadice for the midday clash against Dundee United may have come up too fast for the ambitious youngster.
