Wednesday 20 August 2014 13:14, UK
New Celtic loan signing Wakaso Mubarak will not feature in the Champions League play-off first leg against Maribor.
The signing deadline on Tuesday night passed without Celtic announcing the completion of the paperwork for the proposed agreement to bring the Ghana winger from Rubin Kazan to Glasgow.
Manager Ronny Deila is keen to have him in his squad for the rest of the campaign, particularly in light of the fact that he will be without injured winger James Forrest for some time.
Deila told The Scotsman: “He will be an important player to have in the squad, especially with James being out. Mubarak is a very good deliverer of the ball and also very good both defensively and attacking wise.
“I know African players and have had good experiences working with them. Sometimes they come from tough backgrounds where there’s not so much education. You have to adapt to that when you are leading people from those places. The first year or two in Europe can be difficult for them.
“They have the hunger, that’s true. It is important they keep that hunger. Sometimes when they get a bit of success, they can become individualistic. If he gets here in time, I’ll have to speak to him first and see how he is. I’m not a gambler.”
The Hoops have been busy in the last week strengthening their squad, adding Manchester City's Jason Denayer and Aleksandar Tonev from Aston Villa on season-long loan deals.
Mubarak has won 19 caps for the Black Stars, scoring seven times and would also be signing a season-long deal.
He played for Ghana against Germany and Portugal at the World Cup finals in Brazil during the summer.
The 22-year-old played in Spain for both Villarreal and Espanyol prior to his move to Russia last year.
You can see the game between Maribor and Celtic live on Sky Sports 5 on Wednesday night from 7pm
