Celtic boss Neil Lennon has told The Herald that Diego Laxalt snubbed La Liga interest in order to make the move to Parkhead.
The Bhoys made just the one signing on deadline day, as Laxalt completed a loan move from AC Milan.
The 27-year-old has penned a season-long deal with the Bhoys, who may well hope to turn the move permanent come the end of the season.
Laxalt looks to be a perfect fit for Lennon’s 3-5-2 system, having played in that role before as well as featuring at left back and on the left of midfield.
He is quick and dangerous going forward, and has experience at the highest level having played for Uruguay at the 2018 World Cup.
Now, Lennon claims that he has been tracking Laxalt since seeing him at that World Cup, and wanted him at Celtic last year but couldn’t get a deal done.
Lennon has added that Laxalt showed a ‘remarkable’ desire to join Celtic despite interest from Spanish clubs, believing that he really wanted to join the Bhoys.
“He is a player I have admired for a long time and I tried to get him last year,” said Lennon. “We couldn’t get it done at that point but he showed a remarkable desire to come here. There was a real desire from him to come here, too, because there was a lot of interest from the continent, including La Liga clubs.”
“What I like about him is his desire. I watched him at the 2018 World Cup and I thought he was excellent in a top-quality Uruguay team. He was one of their better players and that’s saying something when you think of the company he was in,” he added.
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