Neil Lennon insists Celtic goal hero Mohamed Elyounoussi is showing exactly why Southampton paid £16million for him.
The Norway international grabbed a double and set up another as Celtic cruised into the Betfred Cup Final.
It was the 30th domestic cup victory in a row and Elyounoussi was at the centre of it as he opened the scoring, netted the third and then set up Scott Brown for the fifth.
And Lennon was full of praise for his showing and reckoned it was his best performance since moving to Glasgow on loan in the summer.
It was his seventh goal in 10 games with four in his last three as he gets to grips with the Scottish game.
And when asked about him, Lennon said:"He was outstanding that's the best he's played since he's come in.
"He's getting better and you can see why Southampton paid Basle a lot of money for him.
"Sometimes players lose their way and he's got a home and he is thriving in the environment.
"We're seeing the best of him now. We're making him better and he's making us better.
"He's in a good place, he's a good kid and I really enjoyed his performance."His footballing intelligence was at the very highest level."
The 25-year-old struggled for regular game time at St Mary's after his big money move and chat is beginning to emerge among the Celtic faithful about their chances of holding onto him.
Given his large transfer fee and likely high wages, it seems an unlikely prospect and Lennon refused to be drawn on Elyounoussi's future.
He added: "It's too early to say.
"As a player, he's out of our sort of bracket and there's an affordability issue.
"He's Southampton's player at the end of the day and we can get make any sort of decision."
