Mo Elyounoussi wasn’t surprised to see Patryk Klimala muscle his way on to the scoresheet in France as he reckons the Pole will be worth his weight in goals this season.
The £3.5million hitman charged down Nice keeper Teddy Boulhendi to get off the mark for the Hoops in Thursday’s 1-1 draw in Lyon.
Klimala has returned for pre-season in bulked up shape and with a burning desire to burst into the side – in contrast to Leigh Griffiths who has been slammed by boss Neil Lennon.
Elyounoussi has been blown away by the frontman’s new bullish look – and the Norwegian ace has backed his team-mate to make a big impact this term.
The on-loan Southampton star said: “Patryk looks impressive. It’s clear he’s worked hard during the break and he’s gained a few kilos.
“Patryk looks strong and sharp. He’s a very hard working striker. You could see it the other night.
“I wasn’t surprised he scored that type of goal because he’s been working really hard in training.
“I’m sure we will be seeing a lot of him this season.”
So is Klimala now ahead of Griff in the queue to partner Odsonne Edouard?
Elyounoussi said: “That is a question for the gaffer but he looks good. He needed some time to adapt but he now looks ready.”
Klimala insisted he’s good to go after relishing his first goal for the club since his January switch.
The Poland Under-21 frontman said: “I feel good and I feel ready. I hope that I showed that against Nice and I hope that in the next game against Lyon I can show the same.
“I’m pleased with my performance. I’ve waited for my chance, six months.
“I maybe wasn’t ready in the past but now I am.
“Against Nice I got the chance to score and I took it. Hopefully our manager and my team-mates can be proud of that.”
Elyounoussi was thrilled to get back on the pitch on Thursday after nearly five months out – and he revealed the Celtic squad are straining at the leash to get the campaign going.
He said: “We have been looking sharp in training in the last few weeks. It was about time to open the cages and let the dogs out!
“There has been some hard weeks of training so it feels good to be playing competitive games again.
“We did well the other night considering they had played a few games and it’s been a few months for us.
“It was good for a start for us against top opposition. It will be especially the case when we face Lyon and then PSG. These games are good for us to get ready for the season, we know we have vital matches ahead of us in the league as well as the Champions League qualifiers in a couple of weeks.
“Lyon are ahead of Juventus in the Champions League tie – so that shows how good they are.
“They are a proper Champions League team but that is what we want.
“We did well on Thursday night. There was a good connection between the players and the understanding was there.
“It’s strange playing with no fans but that is how it is at the moment and we will get used to it. There are things we can do better, especially in the final third, but we are nearly there.”
Celtic will use the bounce games to get up to speed but Elyounoussi admitted he’s counting down to the Champions League qualifiers.
The Hoops could face three one-off ties to get to the two-legged play-off showdown for the group stages and Elyounoussi said: “There is no margin for error now. It’s going to be all or nothing so we need to win every game. We want to be in the Champions League and that is the big target.”
