Celtic fend off late deadline day competition to sign international hitman as 24 y/o makes goal pledge
Celtic have added another striker to their squad on transfer deadline day.
Celtic have fought off late competition from European clubs to confirm the signing of frontman Junior Adamu on loan from Bundesliga outfit Freiburg.
The 24-year-old has signed a loan deal until the end of the season at Parkhead, and becomes the club’s third signing of the winter transfer window, following the arrivals of Borussia Monchengladbach striker Tomas Cvancara and AFC Bournemouth full back Julian Araujo last month.
Celtic manager Martin O’Neill confirmed on Sunday that the club had struck up a deal with the German outfit over the weekend, and that the player was due for a medical ahead of deadline day, following the 2-0 Scottish Premiership win over Falkirk, saying: “The first thing I think about, we have Kelechi Iheanacho, who's a very fine player and can hold the ball up, I think.
“Sometimes he's played very, very little, but he is—I think he can make an impact. He might not last games and things like this, so we definitely need someone strong in there. I think Adamu can do that. I think that, yeah, it'll just give us a couple of options as much as anything else.”
The forward rose to prominence under Matthias Jaissle at Red Bull Salzburg, where he scored 14 goals for the Austrian giants during the 2022/23 season. Capped eight times by his national team, he was previously linked with moves to Leeds United, Southampton and West Ham United prior to his summer 2023 move to Freiberg.
Following the confirmation of his transfer to Celtic, the former Red Bull Leipzig told the club’s official website: “I’m very excited to be here and I can’t wait to get started. I want to give my best for this club and try win the title, also the cup, and to score a lot of goals and help the team, and I also want to improve as a player.
“I’ve spoken with the manager and he’s given me good motivation, and I trust him, he’s given me that trust, he’s told me how the system is and I feel the connection is really strong. I’m dangerous in the box and hungry for goals. That’s what the manager sees in me and I want to show that on the pitch. I can’t wait to be in the stadium, I’ve seen a lot of videos and it looks amazing, and I can’t wait to get started.”
O’Neill added: “We are really pleased to welcome Junior to Celtic. He has experience of high level football, firstly with RB Salzburg and of course in the German Bundesliga for the past few seasons.
"He has also been involved in European competition, so we are bringing in a talented, experienced, international forward to really enhance our attacking options."
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