Celtic sign striker Camilo Duran in first new summer signing

Celtic have signed Colombian forward Camilo Duran as the club’s first new acquisition of the summer.

After undergoing a medical, the 24-year-old joins the Hoops for a fee in the region of £6m on a five-year deal.

Duran notched five goals in the Champions League during a fruitful campaign with Qarabag last season.

Prior to moving to Azerbaijan last year, Duran had spent most of his senior career in Portugal after coming through the youth ranks at Independiente Medellin in his homeland.

He joined Martin O’Neill’s cohort in their pre-season training camp in Portugal.

He told the club’s website: “I’m very happy, it’s a dream come true to sign for a big club like Celtic, the biggest in Scotland, and I’m just excited to get going and score lots of goals.

“When I first heard of the interest there was absolutely no doubt in my mind and I’m just excited to get playing with the boys.

“It was a dream come true playing in the Champions League,” he said. “That’s what you dream of as a kid, so to score goals was amazing and that’s what I want to continue doing here, scoring goals in the Champions League.

“I give it my all in every game, with a lot of effort and dedication, and hopefully the goals will come.

“It’s an honour to be the first Colombian to play for Celtic. It’s been a dream of mine since I was a kid (to play for my country) and I hope that being here at Celtic and working well, then one day that will become true.

“I’ve told the manager how happy I am to be here and that I will hopefully repay him with my performances. It’s a real honour to wear this jersey and I hope that this year we’ll be champions.”

It comes after veteran midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain agreed a new contract to remain with Celtic for the upcoming campaign. O’Neill anticipates his side’s transfer business will accelerate in the coming weeks.

“We have a number of players that we’re looking at,” he said. “We’ve had a number of offers in for players as well at the same time.

“And I’m hoping in the not-too-distant future, and I mean maybe in the next couple of weeks, that we will have some really decent players at the football club to add to the very decent players we have at the football club.”