Marc-Antoine Fortune is an old-fashioned centre-forward in more ways than one. Celtic�s new £3.8m signing is not expected to produce a waterfall of goals but, rather, become a striker of substance.

Marc-Antoine Fortune is an old-fashioned centre-forward in more ways than one. Celtic's new £3.8m signing is not expected to produce a waterfall of goals but, rather, become a striker of substance.

His arrival in Glasgow, and hurried departure for Australia yesterday afternoon, already shows he is made of commendable moral fibre. The capture of this sought-after French Guianan is a welcome tale of triumph over adversity for Celtic and, in this week of all weeks, the downtrodden Scottish game.

To recap, the AS Nancy striker was pursued by Hull City, Portsmouth and West Ham United. None of the aforementioned comes close to the richness of Celtic's history, or their local or global pulling power, but each had a distinct and persuasive advantage of barrowloads of cash to lure the aptly named Fortune back to the Barclays Premier League. Commendably - perhaps even surprisingly to an evidently chuffed Tony Mowbray - Fortune eschewed the multi-millionaire fast-track in favour of contentment and honourable intentions.

In football's Gordon Gekko era, such motives can only be applauded. Fortune will hardly be forced on to the breadline at Celtic, and instead is likely to be thrust into the highest earning bracket, but the 28-year-old has demonstrated an enthusiasm that proved more compelling than the cash being wafted at him by the mid-to-lower tier English clubs. Fortune favours the brave.

"When I started playing football it was for the passion of the game, not money, so why should it be any different now?" he said yesterday. "Money is not the only thing in life."

Considering his late arrival to the big time, after treading the boards at Lille, Rouen, Rennes, Brest and Utrecht without much fuss, he would have been forgiven for maximising his income in the peak years of his career. "In life, finance and securing your family's future is important," said Mowbray, "but the biggest draw for Marc was the club and its history and traditions."

So much so that the player was swayed by the rousing images he had pored over on YouTube as he considered his many appealing options. "It is not the case that I moved here only for Tony Mowbray," he said, having also sounded out, among others, Jean-Joel Perrier-Doumbe and Jean-Claude Darcheville. "I moved here because it is not often you get a chance to sign for such a big club. It is a club you cannot say no' to.

"I came yesterday to pick up my suit and got an idea of the passion of the support. I also watched a lot of Celtic on YouTube and when you join a club that is used to winning the title and participating in the Champions League, it is exciting. I watched the fans sing You'll Never Walk Alone before playing Barcelona and watched the Manchester United games and now I can't wait to take part in nights like that."

First, Celtic must overcome two perilous rounds of preliminary qualifiers but Mowbray will be buoyed by the acquisition of his priority signing target. His second could also arrive in the next 24 hours. Landry N'Guemo, Fortune's former Nancy team-mate, is in Glasgow finalising his loan move to Parkhead. "Landry is the best midfielder at Nancy so I am surprised they are willing to let him go on loan," said Fortune. "I have played with him for two years and he is strong, aggressive and has pace."

Having replaced the creaking Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, it seems Mowbray has wasted no time in filling Paul Hartley's boots. Others will come and go and while the pomp and ceremony will be the same, the price tags are unlikely to be as hefty. "There is no revolution," said Mowbray. "I am not going to take an axe to the squad, which is more than capable of winning back the SPL title and doing well in Europe.

"We will continue to look at ways in which we can improve the team but not every player will cost a lot of money.

I would suggest some could arrive that don't cost a lot but go on to become big stars. Figures and transfer fees are not really my department: I judge footballers on talent and nothing else."

Fortune has already proven to be an impressive character before he has kicked a ball. In Old Firm life, a headstart is everything.