It doesn’t take long or much to endear yourself to the Celtic faithful.
Seven league goals, including one against arch-rivals Rangers, seem to have been enough to turn Scott Sinclair into a fan favourite at Celtic Park.
The 27-year-old made the move north from Aston Villa in the summer for a fee that could potentially rise to £4.5m.
But, apparently, Sinclair needed some convincing as he remained unsure whether or not a move to the Scottish Premiership would be the best decision to make in terms of his career trajectory, given that not so long ago he was sporting the number 11 jersey for Manchester City.
Reluctant to commit pen to paper to join Brendan Rodgers’ new project in Glasgow, Sinclair sought advice from a man who knows Celtic Park better than most.
Hoops legend Stiliyan Petrov was in pre-season training with Sinclair at Aston Villa when Celtic came calling for the young Englishman and it sounds like he played a significant role in persuading Sinclair to agree to the move.
“He’s a very quiet man. He’s a family man which is a very good thing,” Petrov said when previewing Celtic’s Champions League clash with Borussia Monchengladbach for eir.
“I managed to do pre-season with Villa and he was involved in that pre-season so we had a lot of conversations about Celtic as a club, obviously about the SPL and European nights.
Looks like @StanPetrov19 is the reason Scott Sinclair is playing for @celticfc! #CELBMG #UCL https://t.co/BnuaGnuP8F
— eir Sport (@eirSport) October 19, 2016
“And I needed to make it clear to him that going to Celtic, what people would demand from him and that he could get his career started at a great club and that if he managed to grab the fans’ hearts, he’d be remembered forever.
“He was a bit suspicious because of the SPL but I said ‘You need to live and breathe for the European nights!’
“I remember after the Man City game, I had a little text with him and then he told me that he didn’t think it was going to be that good but that it was even better.”
No wonder Petrov is so fondly remembered by Celtic fans, he’s still helping the club out at every opportunity.
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