Rogne does his best to pull a smile as Senderos shows his dismay at the news that Mowbray has denied being his pal
Celtic will today announce the signing of Thomas Rogne from Norwegian side Stabaek. The player, who is available under freedom of contract will require a fee of around £220,000 in development compensation and is seen by the coaching staff as one for the future.
Mowbray, who seems to be losing his patience with the press speculation regarding potential transfers has spoken privately of the importance of signing young and up and coming players in advance of UEFA’s new rule forcing clubs to have a set amount of young players in their teams. This signing appears to follow that thought process.
However Mowbray was being coy regarding who will be unveiled. After the signing of Jos Hooiveld was kept under wraps until the last minute could it be another player, or players other than Rogne who appears?
“I can’t say who the player is, you’ll just have to wait and see,” he said.
“It’s not a player who will come in and make an immediate impact, sometimes you need to get players who take some time.
“We’re trying to build something at this club and there are times when you need to sign players who take time to develop.”
One other player who has been linked with an impending deal is Phillipe Senderos, the Swiss International currently out of favour at Arsenal. Mowbray was quick to rubbish reports that the player had already had talks at Celtic.
"There has been no bid," said Mowbray. "There is no decision (to be made) from Senderos.
"You have been watching too much television."
Told that Wenger had confirmed Celtic's interest, Mowbray replied: "We have an interest in many players, I would suggest.
"For whatever reason, that came out today but that is only one enquiry of many (players) that we have asked about.
"So I wouldn't be holding your breath too much at the moment."
Yours in Celtic
Clydebuilt