Scottish Premiership giants acquired the services of Ivorian midfielder Kouassi Eboue, days ago for £2.8million, making the west African teenager Scottish football’s 2nd most expensive winter transfer window signing of all time.
Eboue has drawn comparisons with Coutinho and Sterling from Celtic’s boss Brendan Rodgers, with the erstwhile Liverpool manager declaring 10 seconds were enough for him to realise the young midfielder was a perfect fit for the Hoops, but what will he bring to the squad?
With Celtic definitely set to emerge Scottish champions for the umpteenth time, having another talented player looks almost unnecessary. 2nd placed Rangers are almost 20 points behind Rodgers’ men, with the league leaders yet to lose a game having won 19 and drawn 1.
So, Eboue isn’t just another signing to help the league cause, the young midfielder is a Champions League signing, and he has a handful of experience to help out on that front. He played all 6 Europa League group games for FC Krasnodar this season, and he racked up 2 assists for the Russian side in the process.
Celtic’s European campaign has largely been underwhelming since forever, and such a player could help add the needed ingredients to make them better challengers. The club couldn’t make it out of their Champions League group this term, finishing in bottom place despite recording a great draw against Manchester City at home.
Eboue’s best role is as a defensive midfielder, with his physical frame providing him with enough strength to help shield the defence, while his standout passing abilities also mean he is able to excel as a central midfielder. It is where he has been deployed mostly in since breaking into Krasnodar’s starting XI at the start of the season after progressing from the Russian Premier League club’s youth team.
The Ivorian arrived the club’s academy from Armenian club Shirak, in 2014 and has been in great form as his development took off at an amazing pace. While Eboue is yet to be capped by Ivory Coast, he has been called up to the squad twice and continues to near his debut as a result of his immense talents.
Since the exit of Victor Wanyama, Celtic’s midfield has lacked power, and it’s believed Eboue should bring exactly just that back to the fold. Rodgers has helped turn a couple of Celtic players like Armstrong, Brown and Forrest into better players, while he has given a youngster like Dembele a chance, and Eboue can be rest assured of getting such support and opportunity if he takes the chances whenever he gets presented with them.
Be it defensive, central or attacking midfield, this young talent boasts of every necessary skill needed to excel and settle into new life at the Celtic Park. Eboue offers more than just depth in quality, he offers a different talent uncommon within the ranks, and with someone like fellow Ivorian Kolo Toure, to help him adapt to Scotland’s and British’s way of life, it can be expected he hits the ground running in no time and make Celtic the team to reckon with in Europe in few seasons’ time.