Celtic have received an endorsement from the Scottish Football Association for Sierre Leone international Mohamed Bangura, contributing towards a successful UK work permit application for the player.
The striker had been with AIK Stockholm but a case made to an appeals panel at Hampden Park, at which Celtic chief Neil Lennon and manager Peter Lawwell were in attendance, appears to have been successful in obtaining the necessary paperwork to move the player to Scotland.
Following the recent restrictions on the number of UK work permits which can be issued each year, cases have been scrutinised rather closely. Bangura does have three caps for his country but he didn't meet the criteria which requires him to have played in 75 per cent of competitive matches in the last two years for FIFA-ranked top 70 nation.
Despite this, the Celtic powers have argued that the player's ability is significant enough to provide value to football in Scotland and the UK Border Agency took the final positive decision on the matter earlier this week (August 30th).
Bangura is not the first man from Sierre Leone to play for a European team. The striker noted that Mohamed Kallon, who played at several top European sides during his time at Inter Milan at the start of the last decade, is a “big inspiration”.
He told the Daily Record that he hopes to emulate his success while at Celtic and will play to the best of his abilities.