Celtic’s Young Canadian Wants To Fit Right In. He’s Doing So With Real Wit And Intelligence.

When certain people in our media realised we were replacing a World Cup semi-finalist with a kid we’d bought from the MLS, I think some of them thought we were nuts. They sniggered over it. Some of them openly said we’d weakened the team.

And then Ange threw him straight into the side at Ibrox, where Alistair Johnston handled himself quite brilliantly. The game did not faze him. He was not in the least bit intimidated. It was a mature and steady performance from a confident player who the boss had the ultimate faith in. Only the most foolish now think he’s a downgrade.

Yesterday, he posted on social media about how he was “learning the language.” Watching Still Game. It’s a witty and intelligent post from a kid who seems as if he fits right into our club, and I’ve been impressed both watching him play and hearing him talk about how he’s enjoying life at Celtic and in Glasgow already. He’s buying into it all.

There is something special about watching a young player fall in love with your club and your culture and your city like this. All the better that he’s capable on the pitch. We paid a lot of money for this boy and he doesn’t seem bothered about all the pressure that puts him under any more than he’s bothered about replacing a World Cup semi-finalist.

When you see what this kid is coping with, and how he’s handling it, it’s obvious that we’ve got ourselves a cracker here on and off the pitch. He’s going to play a big role at this club and in the successes to come. Because he wants this and already appreciates it.

That makes him a little bit different from Juranovic right away who it now seems was only ever saw Celtic as a player from which to move on. Maybe that’s an age thing … but if so then this kid really does seem to have wisdom beyond his years.