With little fanfare Eboue Kouassi made his first start as a Celtic player last night in the 1-1 draw with Partick Thistle.
The midfielder cost a reported £2.8m when he was signed from Krasnodar in January with an eye on next season’s Champions League campaign.
Kouassi was just breaking into the Krasnodar team at this stage last season and finds himself looking for a place in the Celtic side where Brendan Rodgers has got plenty of options.
The 19-year-old was Rodgers’ only January signing with high expectations that he can break into the side and bring an extra dimension to the way the Irishman wants to see Celtic playing.
“Eboue didn’t start great, bless him,” Rodgers admitted in The Sun after last night’s match in which the teenager played for 62 minutes.
“After the first five minutes I thought we had signed his brother but he grew into the game and he started showing what he’s been showing in training.
“He good mobility and was getting around the pitch. I thought he did well after that little spell arriving into Scottish football.”
With the title secured it’s likely that Rodgers will give the midfielder every opportunity possible to adjust to the Scottish game.
Kouassi’s preferred position is playing as a defensive midfielder where Scott Brown and Stuart Armstrong are the first picks with Callum McGregor and Nir Bitton also in contention.