Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Aidan Smith

Celtic announce signing of Rubin Kazan winger Haksabanovic

Celtic announce signing of Rubin Kazan winger Haksabanovic

Celtic have announced the signing of Sead Hakšabanović on a five-year deal.

The former Rubin Kazan winger becomes the seventh signing of the summer, subject to international clearance, for Ange Postecoglou's side. 

The 23-year signs having spent the last few months of the 2021/22 season on loan at Swedish side Djurgardens.

Born in Sweden, the attacker started his career in the country of his birth at Halmstads, before signing for English Premier League side West Ham United in 2017.

Leaving England to return to Sweden, Hakšabanović had impressive spells with IFK Norrköping before moving to Rubin Kazan.

Capped 28 times for Montenegro, the new No.9 becomes the first player from Montenegro to pull on the Hoops and he can't wait to experience life as a Celtic player.

Speaking to Celtic TV on his arrival, he said: "It feels amazing. What I know about Celtic is only good things and I’m very happy to be here.

"I heard about it around a month ago and as soon as I heard that Celtic wanted me I said to my agent that he had to make it happen because this is where I want to play.

"It’s an amazing club with good players, fans and history.

"I’ve been watching some games and I think the team play in the same style as me.

"I’ve been speaking to the manager as well and we had a good chat, speaking about how he sees me as a player and how he wants me to fit into his system and everything sounded good so that was it for me.

"I’m a playmaker with some flair, I’m good in one-on-ones, I have a powerful shot, I’m quick and I’ll give everything for this club.

"The team are doing great and I want to be part of that and make the fans, the club and myself happy.

"Of course, I’m very excited to play in the Champions League, it’s the best competition you can play in and that’s a dream for me as a kid, so to see myself playing in that is very cool."

Growing up in Sweden, Hakšabanović knew all about the club's history from the number of Swedes that have played for the club over the years.

But if he needed to know anything else about the club, his former teammate at Rubin Kazan, Carl Starfelt, was on hand to deliver more positive messages about the club. 

He added: "I know that Henrik Larsson is a big legend here and I know his son really well.

"Hopefully I can do something similar to him which is very hard to achieve but I’m going to try my best.

"I know Joe Hart and Albian Ajeti from West Ham and I spent some time with Carl in Russia.

"He saw somewhere that I was linked to Celtic and he wrote to me but I didn’t want to say too much, I just asked him about the club and he only said good things, so I can't wait to get started now."

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.