CELTIC finally completed the signing of German international Andreas Hinkel last night. The 25-year-old right-back has signed a three-and-a-half-year contract with the SPL champions and said he was "delighted" to clinch the move.
Hinkel has won 17 caps for Germany but joins Celtic after a disappointing 18-month spell in Spain, during which he struggled to establish himself in the Sevilla first team.
The player was also wanted in the Bundesliga by Wolfsburg and Borussia Do
rtmund – whose sporting director was this week quoted as calling Hinkel a "characterless rat" for turning down a deal with his club – but opted for a transfer to Parkhead.
"I am delighted to sign for Celtic Football Club and am really looking forward to joining up with my new team-mates," Hinkel told the club's website, www.celticfc.net last night.
"Celtic is a great club with a great history, having achieved such success at home and in Europe. It is a great honour to join the club and I hope to play an important part in the club's future over the next few years.
"Having already played against Celtic in European competition, I am well aware of the magnificent stadium and wonderful passionate support which the club enjoys. I will be doing my very best to work as hard as I can to try and bring as much success as possible to the Celtic fans."
The signing of Hinkel represents a major coup for Celtic manager Gordon Strachan. Dortmund were particularly keen to land Hinkel but Strachan convinced him to make the move to Scotland. Celtic are believed to have paid just under £2 million for the former Stuttgart player.
Strachan was thrilled to see the right-back choose Glasgow above the offers from Germany. "We are delighted to complete this signing," Strachan said. "Andreas is someone who we have been looking at for some time and we are pleased to have finally got him to Celtic.
"We are sure he has all the qualities to be a great success at the club."
Hinkel's arrival gives Celtic added strength on the right of defence. Strachan's preferred choice for the position, Mark Wilson, has been out injured since September, and centre-half Gary Caldwell has been forced to fill in out wide.
The announcement of Hinkel's signing was widely expected after reports through the week claimed the player had passed a medical. And yesterday Sevilla President Jose Maria del Nido confirmed the deal had gone through, saying: "I can confirm the transfer of Hinkel has been completed and it has brought in 2.6 million euros to the club."
Hinkel may be followed into Celtic by another right-sided defender after Brazilian Coelho arrived in Scotland. The 24-year-old – capped once by Brazil after coming off the bench in the 2003 Gold Cup final – jetted in on Thursday night and is set to train with the squad over the coming week, with a view to securing a permanent switch from Corinthians.
Celtic chief executive Peter Lawwell was delighted to get one signing out of the way yesterday and pledged to keep supporting Strachan in the transfer market as the club try to retain their SPL title and progress past the last 16 of the Champions League.
Lawwell said: "We are very pleased to welcome Andreas to Celtic.
"He is a player with a fantastic pedigree and one who was in high demand, with a number of other clubs interested in him – we are pleased to have been successful in securing his signature.
"We are delighted once again to have invested in the first team through this signing and can assure fans that the Celtic board will continue to do all we can to support Gordon's plans for the development of the Celtic squad."
There was more good news for Celtic supporters yesterday when midfielder Shunsuke Nakamura announced that he could make his long-awaited return to action against Stirling Albion next week.
Nakamura has been struggling since August with a knee ligament problem and has been absent from the Celtic team since late October. But he hopes to play in the Scottish Cup fourth-round tie against Stirling, the bottom team in the Irn-Bru First Division, a week today.
The 29-year-old is a key member of Strachan's side and his invention in midfield has been missed in recent weeks. Last season Nakamura was the star of the show at Celtic Park, winning the Scottish Professional Footballers' Association's player of the year award and the Scottish Football Writers' accolade after his injury-time free-kick secured the title.
"I did some light ball work earlier this week, but I need to do more cardiovascular work to build up my stamina," said Nakamura yesterday.
"While my stamina levels may have dropped, I haven't forgotten how to kick the ball. I'm aiming to return for the Scottish Cup game against Stirling Albion a week tomorrow."
Celtic do not have a game today following the death last weekend of Motherwell captain Phil O'Donnell. Strachan's men had been due to face the Fir Park side tomorrow but the match was postponed as a mark of respect.
Meanwhile, Celtic have announced the death of former director James Farrell, who was 86. Farrell was on the club's board for over 25 years, having become a director in 1965.
The full article contains 909 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
