‘NEW Bhoy Ismail Soro – who has just earned a new nickname of ‘Little Bull’ – will add power and strength to the Celtic midfield.
Neil Lennon has paid £2million for the tenacious Ivorian from Israeli club Bnei Yehuda and the deal will be finalised once the player has gone through the formalities of being granted a work permit.
The Hoops boss, speaking to the Evening Times, said: “He’s a little bull. He’s strong, technically very good, quick across the ground.
“At 21, he’s got room for improvement obviously on the tactical side of the game, but from what we’ve seen he looks a very good player.
“He’s playing at a good level, he’s robust, he plays all the games. He doesn’t play for a top club, but his numbers are good and what we’ve seen on the footage, we like.
“I think he reads the game well. He plays like a man, and he will add that extra bit of edge.
“We’ve done alright in the Israeli market. The recent one was Hatem Abd Elhamed, and, though we’ve lost him to long-term injury, he’s showed up well.
“We’ve also brought in Efe Ambrose, Beram Kayal and Nir Bitton, so we’ve done okay.
“They’re hungry boys and that’s the type we’re looking for.”
Soro will be the Hoops’ second arrival in this transfer window following the £3.5million purchase of Polish striker Patryk Klimala from Jagiellonia Bialystock.
Lennon is hoping his new recruits can give the champions the edge in the title race as the Parkhead men go for their ninth successive crown.
They are two points ahead of Steven Gerrard’s Ibrox outfit with their nearest challengers having a game in hand.
Asked if new faces can make the difference between success and failure, the Irishman answered: “Sometimes, yes, if you get the right ones in.
“There’s a few that have gone out – Scott Sinclair and Lewis Morgan and there are a few others with which there are deals ongoing and they may leave. It was important to trim the squad in that respect.
“Then there’s obviously room to add to that. We don’t want a glut of players coming in either, but we want maybe three or four to come in and tighten us up a little bit.
“The guys who have gone out weren’t playing every week. Any who do go out on loan, it’s important for them to go and get some game time because, otherwise, they are going to be idle here and that’s not what we want for them.
“I don’t think we’ve been weakened so far by players going out. It does give you room for a little bit more manoeuvre in terms of wages.”
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