Cristian Gamboa has revealed that he was sitting on a secret transfer for THREE months.
Yesterday the Costa Rican was able to pull on the hoops after the deal was finally completed with the signing of a three year contract.
From his base in the Midlands Gamboa watched all the transfer movement as Brendan Rodgers put together a squad that took Celtic into the group phase of the Champions League.
Crucially Rodgers didn’t sign any full-backs with Gamboa’s patience rewarded yesterday when he was finally able to speak out about his move north of the border.
“I first heard about the move when the transfer window opened,” he admitted yesterday giving an insight into the transfer business. “The last few days it has started to move forward and I’m happy to be a Celtic player.
“My situation wasn’t perfect as I wasn’t playing for a while at West Brom although I was playing for Costa Rica.
“It was an easy decision for me to make. This is a chance for me to prove myself at a big club.
“I know there is a lot of pressure around, but I’m ready to prove to the fans. I want to settle here for a while.”
After helping Costa Rica to reach the last eight of the World Cup Gamboa expected his career to take off.
At 24 years of age he was entering his peak years with a move to West Brom from Rosenburg appearing to offer the perfect platform for the next stage in his career
He added: “The World Cup was the biggest moment for me and for my country. It was unfortunate we went out to Holland on penalties.
“It was a great experience and it is good to say you have played there.
“When you are playing in the World Cup you are up against the best players in the world – so it’s just like the Champions League.
“I know it will be a different experience but I am looking forward to it. I have been out for a while but I’m ready. I just have to hope I get the call from the coach.
“I watched the game in Israel (v Hapoel). These games can be difficult and anything can happen. I’m just happy they qualified. Now I’m here to earn a spot in the team.”
CLICK HERE for Chris Sutton’s verdict on Gamboa and West Brom
CLICK HERE for Day of Dread at Ibrox.