Shim Mheuka would be a very good signing, even on loan.

Well, well, well… Celtic may well have done something interesting here.

Shim Mheuka is now effectively a Celtic player, with the deal agreed, his medical completed and official confirmation expected imminently.

It is a season-long loan from Chelsea, and I have to say that when I look at this one, my first reaction is simple: I like it. I really, really like it.

Not because I expect an 18-year-old kid to walk through the doors of Celtic Park and suddenly become the next Henrik Larsson. Let’s get one thing straight here, I am not going to put ridiculous pressure on a young lad before he has even kicked a ball for us. But I absolutely love what this signing could give us.

Sometimes Celtic needs to be brave enough to look beyond the obvious. We need to find players before they become household names, bring in young talent and give them the environment, the supporters, the pressure and the expectation to see how they respond.

Mheuka certainly does not arrive at Celtic without a reputation.

This boy has been banging in goals for Chelsea’s Under-21s, and not just occasionally finding the net. He was named Premier League 2 Player of the Season after scoring 18 goals in 19 league appearances and helping Chelsea win the title. He finished as the division’s top scorer and captained the side during an outstanding campaign.

Eighteen goals in nineteen league games is not something I am going to ignore.

He has already been around Chelsea’s first-team environment as well, which tells you they clearly think highly of him. Celtic now gets the opportunity to see how all of that translates into senior football with real pressure attached.

I love the idea of this boy arriving at Paradise hungry to prove himself, hungry to play and hungry to score. Celtic can offer him something very different from academy football: the noise of Celtic Park, European football and a dressing room where winning is not a nice little bonus at the weekend, it is the bloody expectation.

My Ginger-Witch instincts are telling me there is something here. Look at what he brings on paper: pace, energy, movement and goals, along with the kind of unpredictability defenders absolutely hate.

I want Celtic to have forwards who do not simply stand there waiting for the ball to arrive at their feet. I want movement, players running behind defenders, players attacking space and players making defenders turn around and actually think.

There is another little detail which caught my attention too. Mheuka has already made his mark internationally with England Under-19s, including scoring the winner against Poland in elite-round qualifying earlier this year.

So, this is not simply a case of Chelsea having some young player sitting somewhere in the academy who needs a bit of experience. This is a player who has already been producing, and that matters.

Of course, I am going to keep my feet on the ground.

He is eighteen. He is still developing, he will make mistakes and he will have games where absolutely nothing works. He might take time to adapt to Scottish football and discover pretty quickly that Scottish defenders do not always give you the same luxury of time academy football can provide.

Celtic supporters can be demanding too, very demanding, so I hope we give the boy time. I hope we do not decide after his first twenty minutes that he is either the next superstar or a complete waste of money. He is eighteen years old, for God’s sake, so let the lad breathe, let him learn, let him play and then let’s see what Celtic can get out of him.

This is also where the loan makes sense. Celtic gets an exciting young striker without committing a huge permanent fee, while Mheuka gets an opportunity to experience senior football at a club where the expectations are enormous. It is a proper test, and I actually think that is what makes it exciting.

I do not want Celtic simply collecting players. I want Celtic building a squad, creating competition and giving Martin O’Neill genuine options when he looks towards the bench.

Imagine bringing fresh pace into a tired defence late in a match. Imagine him running at defenders when their legs are already gone, or coming on in Europe and causing absolute chaos. That is the sort of player I want Celtic to have.

There has been so much talk about experience, established names and big-money signings, and yes, I still want Celtic to bring in quality and experience. But you also need players with energy and ambition, players desperate to force their way into the manager’s thinking.

Maybe Mheuka walks into Celtic Park, hears 60,000 people roaring, looks around and thinks: “Right. This is the level where I belong.” I bloody hope so.

None of this guarantee’s success. Nothing does. But 18 goals in 19 league appearances, a Player of the Season award, England youth recognition and first-team exposure at Chelsea give me more than enough reason to be interested in what happens next.

So yes, I am going to welcome Shim Mheuka to Celtic with open arms.

I am going to watch him, judge him and, knowing me, probably get ridiculously excited the first time he scores at Paradise. Because that is what supporting Celtic is about. We see a young player arrive and we dream, imagine and hope. We wonder whether this could be the next brilliant chapter.

So welcome to Paradise, Shim. You’re only eighteen, you’ve got a hell of a lot to learn, but you’ve also got a hell of a lot of potential.

Now come on, son. Show us what you’ve got.

The Celtic Park lights are waiting for you.

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