Celtic boss Neil Lennon has disclosed that he spoke to loan signing Mohamed Elyounoussi ahead of the Hoops’ 2-0 win over Cluj.
He implored the player to turn in his best performance for the Hoops, and that is what happened as the attacker scored his first Celtic goal in the victory.
“I spoke to him on Wednesday” Lennon said, talking to Celtic’s YouTube channel ahead of the Hoops’ trip to Livingston.
“He was superb”
“I said ‘look, you’re up to speed now fitness wise, it’s time, you’ve had three games, and we know you’ve done ok, but there’s more to come from you’ I thought he was superb…I hope that’s a real fillip for him going forward.”
Lennon’s discussion with the player had the desired effect. Whilst Elyounoussi had performed well enough for the Hoops so far, his performance against Cluj was his best for the club so far.
Set to return to parent club at end of season
It will be interesting to see where the player’s future lies at the end of the season. He is set to return to Southampton, who once paid £16 million for him. Hopefully the Hoops will be able to work out a deal where he can remain at the club for longer than one season.
That will depend on discussions between Celtic and Southampton, of course. For now though, he will be focussing on helping the Hoops retain the league title and progress in Europe. His next test will be on Livingston’s plastic pitch on Sunday. If he plays as well as he did against Cluj he should have a field day.
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