Celtic outcast Eboue Kouassi has broken his silence after he joined the Belgian side Genk on loan for the rest of this season, according to Daily Record.
The 22-year-old midfielder says he is working hard to revive his career and wants to emulate his compatriot Yaya Toure.
Kouassi said:
“I’m working hard to get fully fit again and this is a great new challenge for me.
“My hero has always been Yaya Toure. He spent a few years in Belgium and look where he ended up. So that’s my motivation here.”
The Ivory Coast international joined the Luminus Arena on loan this month with the move to be made permanent if he manages to impress the club with his performances.
The talented midfielder graduated from Russian club Krasnodar and went on to make 10 league appearances for Hannes Wolf’s side.
He then landed a big move to Celtic Park in 2017 after the Scottish club paid a hefty £3m to sign him. However, he proved to be an expensive disaster at Parkhead and failed to impress Neil Lennon with his performances.
He has not been featured in the last 15 months for the Hoops with his league appearance amounting to a meager seven starts since joining the club. He is also yet to score a goal for the club.
But now the youngster is hopeful that he can revitalize his career in Belgium, just like his hero and ex-Manchester City legend Yaya Toure did after playing in this country for three years.
Although the Belgian side wants him to prove his worth before they can make the move permanent.
The club’s sports director Dimitri de Conde told the media:
“He now has four months to show what he is capable of and whether he has what it takes to be in our squad next season.
“We have been following Eboue since he was in Russia before he went to Celtic and we have continued to watch his career.
“He is very keen to show us what he can do and whether he can fulfill his potential.
“At Celtic, he started off in their team, but got a serious knee injury. As a result, it will take time to get him fully fit again. But he is a player with many qualities.”
