Celtic target Mark McKenzie has broken his silence on moving to Europe and admits he's desperate for it to happen.
The USA defender is wanted by Celtic after his breakthrough spell with Philadelphia Union in the MLS - where he is a team mate of former Rangers midfielder Alejandro Bedoya.
McKenzie is desperate to play Champions League football and although Celtic can't offer that this season, they are regulars in the competition and he wants to test himself against the best players in the world.
The 21-year-old clearly has big ambitions for his future and didn't hide his wish to leave the States while speaking to the MLS' own podcast.
Pundit Charlie Davies urged McKenzie to avoid a move to Celtic and go directly to one of European football's top leagues, and he replied: "Ultimately it’s about the personal experience, I think, so the only way for me to understand it fully is to be over there and to compete.
"Whichever club that is, I think it’s going to be the experience of a lifetime, but I have aspirations to play at the highest level, to play Champions League football. I think that’s as simple as it is.
"Ultimately, a ball-playing league is a league that I want to be part of.
"I think that, again, that’s where you’re going to be tested and I can’t say what the future holds right now, but ultimately I do see myself playing against, again, these world-class 9s, these world-class 10s, these world-class 7s and 11s who are going to put me under pressure, both defensively and with the ball.
"But having the capabilities to know that I can play and compete against them is something I’m looking forward to and it’s something that is pushing me day in and day out."
