Lukasz Zaluska signed a pre-contract agreement back in January and finally the Polish goalkeeper was able to join his new team-mates, including compatriot Artur Boruc, at the Lennoxtown training complex. The new goalie spoke to the Celtic View this week.
CV: It's been a long wait since you signed a pre-contract. How does it feel to finally be a Celtic player?
Zaluska: It's a great honour for me, it feels like a dream come true and to start with, I would like to thank the manager, the players, coaches, staff and supporters at Dundee United for all their help over the past two years. It's thanks to them that I am sitting here now. They were the ones who gave me the opportunity to become successful in Scotland and now I am with this great club, with all these great supporters. I have waited a long time for this and over the past seven months I have been trying to not think about Celtic and to concentrate on my game at United and as you could see, we ended up in a decent finishing position last season. But now I am here and I am very happy and enjoying every minute of it.
CV: What was your reaction when first became aware of Celtic's interest?
Zaluska: I was very happy about it and it was probably my best Christmas ever. I signed the contract just two days before Christmas Eve, so we had something very special to celebrate. Not being modest, I can say that this was part of the plan. I wanted to come over to Scotland and play well for Dundee United and try and win a move to Celtic. So in many ways, this is my dream move. It's been an aim of mine for some time now. My time at United has given me confidence and a platform. It's because of the games I played there that Celtic became interested in me and I improved a lot with the experiences I had there. Like I said, it's because of them that I am a Celtic player.
CV: Does having the likes of Barry Robson and Willo Flood here make it easier for you to settle?
Zaluska: I am really happy to see a few of my old team-mates from my former club. They are both good players and good people and they have helped me settle. But to be honest I don't think it's going to be a problem settling here at Celtic and in Glasgow in general. I don't think it should take any more than a few days or, at the most, a couple of weeks.
Lukasz Zaluska's full Q&A is in this week's Celtic View.