Celtic's first summer signing is already playing like a player who knows there are no guarantees, and Martin O'Neill will love it. The Hoops are just one week away from the start of the new league season, and O'Neill is preparing for a competition within his ranks.
The Hoops have put together a disastrous recruitment strategy so far this summer, only landing one new player at time of writing, but a second is expected to complete his move today.
The Bhoys signed Camilo Duran on a £5.5million deal from Qarabag, and they will add a second striker in Kasper Hogh, who is joining for £11million plus add-ons.
Duran is already fighting for his place
Duran will not be blind to the fact Celtic are signing another new striker, and he is already staking his claim to be the starting frontman. The forward scored again on Saturday, during the 2-2 draw with AC Milan, making it three in three games.
That's a fine start from the Colombian, and it's one Kieran Tierney has acknowledged. He said: "He’s flying. I think in pre-season it can be hard sometimes to come into a team, but it looks like he’s came in and settled in straight away. Just credit to him and credit to the boys as well.”
The clear positive is that Duran hasn't come in and taken his time in getting going. He is hitting the ground running and already looks like a player with a point to prove. He will be the cheaper of the two striker signings, and that perhaps makes him more likely to be the secondary option, but that is far from set in stone.
Duran has been a goalscorer during his career, and that gives him plenty of chance to win the battle. In reality, both he and Hogh are likely to see plenty of game time between them, given they are two different kinds of strikers, and O'Neill is likely to shuffle between the two based on the needs and the opponent.
But it's very nice to see that Duran, despite arriving on a significant fee of £5.5million, and on the back of a successful Champions League campaign, has not arrived with any sort of entitlement. He has come in, worked hard and seems intent on proving himself to O'Neill, his teammates and the Celtic faithful. That's the attitude the Bhoys need, and it's the sort of attitude O'Neill demands.
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