Balde sets European target

Amido Balde has set his sights on Europe.

The 22-year-old is expected to complete a £1.5m move to Celtic today after arriving in Glasgow on Monday afternoon.

Celtic will find out their Champions League opponents in a fortnight with Neil Lennon’s focus purely built around returning to the group stages.

Another £20m jackpot and the prestige of hosting Champions League football for the second year running would put Celtic into a very strong position with Balde looking to hit the ground running and make his mark.

“I’m looking forward to the new challenge ahead and will be trying my best for all the fans,” he said.

“I got attracted to Celtic because they are a big European club with massive history.

“I watched Celtic play Barcelona and the atmosphere was incredible.

 “My ambitions at Celtic are to score as many goals as I can and a really good European run.

“I felt Celtic was the right club to take my career forward and I hope the fans like how I play.”

Balde’s signing is likely to signal the end of Gary Hooper’s Celtic career although the former Scunthorpe man could start the new season as a Celtic player.

Norwich City, Hull City, Sunderland and Newcastle United have all been linked with a move for Hooper without any bids being made.

The Premiership season starts on August 17, a month after Celtic’s first match,  easing the pressure on clubs from making early deals.

Norwich seem to be the front runners in the race for Hooper but with Celtic in no rush to sell it’s likely that his departure will be decided by the club rather than the player.

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