By turning down much higher wages in the EPL Marc-Antoine Fortuné has already put his money where his mouth is. The striker insists that his love for football rather than money is why he signed for Celtic. He's willing to forego the cash on offer in England because he wants to play in front of the Celtic Park crowd on Champions League nights after whetting his appetite on YouTube.
"I have watched some videos of games on YouTube and you can see the atmosphere in the stadium." he said. "That's what I want to be involved in with Celtic. On YouTube I saw the Celtic fans signing You'll Never Walk Alone at the match against Barcelona. It was just incredible to see it and hear it."
"I also saw clips of the game against Manchester United." he added. "And now I am looking forward to playing my part in nights like that. I can already feel the passion for football in this city. When the people come up and talk to you, you understand how important football is to them."
Hull, West Ham, Fulham and Portsmouth were all credited with an interest in the former AS Nancy player but Fortuné insists that he wasn't interested in returning to England after Celtic entered the race for his signature. "I think there were some other clubs after me." he said. "But I didn't pay attention to any of that because my first choice was Celtic. I said to my agent 'we talk to Celtic first'. Why shouldn't football be more important than money? When I started to play as a kid I didn't do it because I wanted to make money. I did it because the game was my passion. If I can continue to play football for passion then why not? Yes, money is a big part of football these days but it is not the only thing."
The player acknowledged the huge influence of Tony Mowbray on his decision and admitted that the boss made a big impression on him during his loan spell at WBA. "Tony was a big part of the reason I chose to come here." he said. "I have already worked with him and that was a big factor. I spoke with Tony a lot last season and that gave me confidence but Celtic is the kind of club you just can't say no to. Maybe in your career you only get one chance to play for a club like this. When that chance comes you must take it."
"I spoke to Jean-Joel Perrier-Doumbe about Celtic Park last season." said the man from French Guiana. "I was in the team hotel with Nancy before we played against Motherwell. He said only good things about Celtic and I always remembered that. The manager wants to play good football but also win games. If you can do both it's always better, that's his target."
Fortuné realises that the expectations at Celtic are huge but he is relishing the coming season and relishing the quest for the honours that the fans demand. "When you come to a club like Celtic which is used to winning titles and playing in the Champions League then your ambition must be as high as the club's." said the new number ten. "My ambition is to win titles here and to do something in the Champions League. Why can't we achieve something really special in the Champions League? If you look at the last Confederations Cup, nobody expected the USA to reach the final. So why can't we do something similar here? I believe Celtic do have the weapons to do something."
At £3.8m this is a significant chunk of new boss Mowbray's transfer budget but the player himself, who has signed a three-year deal with Celts, is confident that he'll repay the manager's faith in him. "It is my job to score as I'm a striker but I also want to play good football." said Marc-Antoine. "I am not really surprised to have signed for a club like Celtic, this is what I've been aiming for since the start of my career. I know myself and what I can do, I always believed something like this was a possibility. When I came to England people started to know me and realise what I could do. The Premier League was a good experience and it should help me adjust to the SPL."