NEIL LENNON has backed 'little bull' Ismaila Soro to add physicality to the Celtic midfield.
Soro will complete a £2m move to the club from Israeli side Bnei Yehuda assuming the Ivorian is granted a work permit, and while he may be diminutive in stature, his new boss has no worries about him being able to handle the cut and thrust of the Scottish Premiership.
“He’s a little bull," said Lennon. "He’s strong, technically very good, quick across the ground.
“At 21 he’s got room for improvement obviously on the tactical side of the game, but from what we’ve seen he looks a very good player.
“He’s playing at a good level, he’s robust, he plays all the games. He doesn’t play for a top club, but his numbers are good and what we’ve seen on the footage, we like.
"I think he reads the game well. He’s 21, but he plays like a man, and he will add that extra bit of edge.
“We’ve done alright in the Israeli market. The recent one was obviously (Hatem) Elhamed, and though we’ve lost him to long-term injury, he’s showed up well.
“We’ve had Efe (Ambrose), we’ve had (Beram) Kayal, we’ve had (Nir) Bitton, so we’ve done ok.
“They’re hungry boys, and that’s the type that we’re looking for.”
Soro will be the second arrival of the window at Celtic Park after striker Patryk Klimala also checked in this week in a £3.5m deal from Jagiellonia Bialystock.
On the other side of the city, Rangers manager Steven Gerrard said this week that he may not bring in any new signings during January, and Lennon is hoping that his new recruits can give Celtic an edge in the title race.
"Sometimes yes [it cab make the difference] if you get the right ones in," he said.
"There’s a few that have gone out obviously – (Scott) Sinclair (Lewis) Morgan. There are a few others with which there are deals ongoing and they may leave. It was important to trim the squad in that respect.
"Then there’s obviously room to add to that. We don’t want a glut of players coming in either but we want maybe three or four to come in and tighten is up a little bit.
"The guys who have gone out weren’t playing every week. Any who do go out on loan, it’s important that they do go and play and remember they are still under contract here.
"It’s important for them to go and get some game time because otherwise they are going to be idle here and that’s not what we want for them.
"I don’t think we’ve been weakened so far by players going out. It does give you room for a little bit more manoeuvre in terms of wages."
Meanwhile, Lennon is expecting a tough test from his near neighbour Ian McCall's Partick Thistle outfit in the Scottish Cup at Firhill tonight.
"I usually see Ian somewhere down the West End," he said.
"He’s a great manager. He had a great time at Ayr. I was delighted for him to get back to his spiritual home, if you want to call it that.
"I know he’ll make life very difficult for us.
"We’re fully focused on getting back on the horse and starting as we mean to go on. We’ll be pretty strong."
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