New Celtic signing Maik Nawrocki says he has left the biggest club in Poland to move to the biggest one in Scotland.
The centre-back has joined Celtic from Legia Warsaw, signing a five-year deal and taking the number 17 jersey.
He was announced early on Wednesday and then met the media later in the day. Nawrocki came across well but it does seem like he will save most of his talking for on the pitch.
Regardless of that, he was keen to point out that he’s well aware of what it’s like to play for a club who are expected to win every domestic match.
“I came from Legia — the biggest club in Poland — so I had pressure there,” he said, as shown on the Celtic YouTube channel.
“But it’s also not pressure for me, it’s excitement to be in the biggest club in the country and have the pressure to win.
“I came the first time and I was shocked by how big the stadium was. It’s quiet at the moment but I hope I will see it loud.
“I think [Celtic and Legia] are quite the same. Maybe just a little bigger at this club because of the Champions League.”
Nawrocki’s comment about Celtic being the biggest club in Scotland was about as throwaway as you could get, yet it was still enlightening.
While plenty of supporters lapped up the supposed ‘dig at Rangers’, the reality is that our new signing wasn’t going down that route.
Nawrocki was simply pointing out that he had left the biggest club in Poland for the biggest one in Scotland.
For an onlooker like Nawrocki, Celtic are the biggest club in Scotland, with little debate. We’ve won 17 of the last 21 domestic trophies on offer and 11 of the last 12 league titles.
Similarly, Legia Warsaw have won 7 of the last 11 Ekstraklasa titles. Despite their struggles over the past two seasons, few would argue about them being the biggest club in Poland.
It’s a great place we find ourselves in at the top of Scottish football, with more good times to come.
Let’s hope our new centre-back can be a part of them.
In other news, Hyeokkyu Kwon was also speaking to the media today
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