Amido Balde

AMIDO BALDE was a very happy Bhoy after he jetted into Glasgow to complete a £1.8million move to Celtic.
Vitoria Guimaraes striker Balde posed with a Celtic scarf and beaming smile seconds after emerging from the airport.
It was all before he has even officially signed for the two-in-a- row SPL champions.
But, after a tour of Parkhead, the city and a medical, it is believed he will be confirmed today as Neil Lennon’s first summer capture.
Ex-Sporting Lisbon kid Balde is expected to commit to the Hoops until at least 2016.
SunSport had revealed yesterday that the 22-year-old was set to fly into Glasgow to agree a deal after we broke the news on Saturday that Celtic had put themselves back in pole position to land him by outbidding English top-flight new boys Crystal Palace.
Celtic will shell out a £1.5m down payment to Guimaraes plus a further £300,000 based on games, goals and title success.
It is understood the Portuguese Cup winners — whose president Julio Mendes was in Glasgow to conclude negotiations — insisted on a 10 per cent sell-on clause.
The prospect of playing in the Champions League was a huge carrot for Balde who admitted: “I’m excited about playing in that competition. Celtic is a fantastic club.”
Former Chelsea and Crystal Palace star Tommy Langley has been helping advise Balde.
He said last night: “Amido is very keen to sign for Celtic.
“There are other clubs interested in him — but Crystal Palace is now a non-runner.
“At the end of the day he’s here and we’re trying to get the deal done at Celtic. That’s the first priority.
“He wants to come here because it’s a fantastic football club which plays in the Champions League.
“He’s a very happy boy now that he’s in Glasgow.
“He’s got a couple of things to sort out — but he’s very interested in coming here permanently.”
Langley added: “I don’t know when it will be completed, but Celtic’s Peter Lawwell and John Park have both done great. You can see that Amido’s a big, strong lad.
“He’s very athletic and has a great touch. He’s a boy who’s ready now and can only get better.”


Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepag...ker-to-seal-18m-Celts-deal.html#ixzz2VrKfIAbe

 

So good.. so cheap

Exclusive
By PHIL GORDON

Published: 15 minutes ago



AMIDO BALDE was part of Portugal’s ‘Silver Generation’ — now Celtic are about to get their hands on a golden Bhoy.

Former Motherwell defender Mitchell van der Gaag has tracked Balde’s rapid rise to stardom at Vitoria Guimaraes.
And the current boss of Portuguese top-flight side Belenenses believes the Hoops can cash in on the country’s financial crisis by signing a future star of the European game.
Van der Gaag has been watching Balde since the giant striker was part of the Portugal Under-20 side which came so close to becoming world champions in 2011.
They went down 3-2 to Brazil in a remarkable final in Bogota when it required a hat-trick from Chelsea star Oscar to sink them.
That meant Balde and his pals failed to match the feats of the ‘Golden Generation’ of Luis Figo and Co, who won the Under-20 World Cup in 1989 and 1991.
But van der Gaag says the 6ft 4in ace is on the verge of something huge.
And he’s convinced that moving to Parkhead can elevate Balde to first-pick status for the Portugal national team by dazzling on the Champions League stage with Celtic.
The only strikers making news in the country right now are the workers who are about to bring Portugal to a standstill on June 27.
Everyone from cleaners to airline pilots will be on the street to protest against the government’s deepening austerity measures.
Dutchman van der Gaag, who moved to Portugal 12 years ago after a career that included three seasons at Fir Park, said: “The financial crisis in Portugal is affecting everything, especially football. Portugal has the best young football talent in the world but it never found a chance to show what it could do because clubs spent so much money bringing in expensive signings from abroad.
“But because of the financial crisis, clubs cannot afford foreign players any more and they are now giving kids like Balde a chance.
“Guimaraes only signed Balde last season whereas, in the past, he might have had to wait for his chance in the first team.
“But the club’s financial problems meant they put him into the side.
“It paid off for them, though, because they won the Portuguese Cup when they beat Benfica in the final after knocking us out.
“Guimaraes still have big money problems. They knew as long ago as last January that they would be cashing in and selling Balde in the summer. There were German and English clubs linked with him, but Celtic just came out of nowhere only a few weeks ago.
“Guimaraes have to get money in and can’t risk the deal going wrong, so I think that’s why Celtic are at the head of the queue.
“Celtic are definitely paying less than they might have a few years ago because Portuguese clubs need to raise cash.
“Guimaraes even sold Balde’s striking partner, Hilal Soudani, to Croatia Zagreb just last month.”
Portugal’s football crisis is summed up by Sporting Lisbon, where Balde was a youth academy product, who are now £190million in debt.
Van der Gaag added: “If Portugal has the best talent, Sporting has the best youth system.
“No one can match them for scouting talent and developing it.
“But the real problem was getting access to the first team. So all those kids went out on loan, rather than being introduced gradually into the first team.
“That’s what happened with Balde. He had three loans at Santa Clara, Badajoz in Spain and Cercle Bruges in Belgium, which Sporting has a partnership with, but he didn’t really shine in any of them.
“Sporting allowed Balde to join Guimaraes last summer, although they still have a 10 per cent share in him.
“But Sporting have had to sell off all their recent big signings, like Ricky van Wolfswinkel — who scored a hat-trick against Celtic in the Europa League for my old club Utrecht — to Norwich City.
“The club has had to bring in youngsters.
“The Under-19 side that Balde was part of at Sporting have been drafted in to take up the first-team spots, via the reserve side at Sporting B, who are in the second division and played against my Belenenses side.
“Balde, though, did really well in the top flight at Guimaraes.
“He got nine goals and a lot of assists, too.”
Ex-defender van der Gaag has just steered Belenenses back to Portugal’s Primeira League after they stormed to promotion.
But they had their dreams of glory in the Portuguese Cup ruined by Balde and his team-mates as Vitoria sent them crashing out at the semi-final stage.
Van der Gaag said: “When we played Vitoria in the Portuguese Cup semi-final over two legs, he was their biggest threat — even if he did not score.
“We lost 3-0 on aggregate. My centre-halves played well but Balde gave them a real shift.
“He is the type of player who does not rely on what he does inside the box. He works so hard for the rest of the team.
“He is very strong and also holds the ball up well.
“He can even play up front by himself if he has to.
“So he will be a great asset in Scottish football. He is strong — but he is not just a target man.
“Normally, tall strikers are not as agile. But Balde is quick, very technical and with a good left foot.
“Plus he can play combinations with other strikers.
“The one thing that never changes with Celtic is that they always create chances. So I think he can do well over in Scotland.”
In fact, van der Gaag believes Balde’s physical characteristics can help boost his chances of earning a first international cap.
He has already played for Portugal’s Under-19s side at the 2010 Euro finals and the Under-20s at the 2011 World Cup.
Van der Gaag said: “Portugal have a lot of gifted footballers but the national team is not very well off for quality strikers.
“For years, they have played with just one striker like Hugo Almeida or Helder Postiga.
“However, both of them are now around 30.
“The other Portuguese forwards — who were wingers or second strikers — were smaller.
“The big clubs have preferred to buy in foreign strikers like Hulk when he was at Porto and Oscar Cardozo at Benfica.
“But Balde now has a great chance to show what he can do for Celtic.
“If you go abroad and do well, it helps your profile in Portugal and especially if it is for a side in the Champions League.
“The Champions League would be a great thing for him. The Scottish league will be a good change in itself for Balde because it’s very different to Portugal and strikers play much closer to goal than they do here.
“He will have to adapt, but he has already had a season on loan over in Belgium, so he’s shown he is capable.
“That is what clubs like Celtic now have to do.
“They have to sign up-and-coming players, just like they did with Victor Wanyama, and then try to develop them into top ones.
“The Champions League will really improve young players. Celtic did really well last season.
“They got the prize that Benfica wanted of second place in the group and beating Barcelona also raised Celtic’s profile.
“For me, it’s the perfect outcome for both parties. Balde is a player with great potential. It’s a good deal for him and for Celtic.”

Read more: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage...#ixzz2VrJBNkFY
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__________________

 

kinda read the article and it doesn't say we got him. i saw the picture with the scarf and immediately put it up on the site. I'm as bad as the rumor mongers at the Record and Sun.

 

It's pretty close to being sealed tbf...

 

Lookin' Gooooooooood !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

<header> Celtic line up Portugese hitman Amido Balde

PORTUGUESE striker Amido Balde checked in at Celtic last night and set his sights on firing the team to another title.

By: Michael Baillie
<time pubdate="" datetime="2013-06-11T00:01:00Z">Published: Tue, June 11, 2013</time>




0<var></var>Comments


</header> <section class="photo"> Amido Balde is set to become Neil Lennon's first signing of the summer
</section> <section class="text-description">The Vitoria de Guimaraes star jetted into Scotland to put the finishing touches on a £1.5million move that will see him become Hoops manager Neil Lennon’s first signing of the close season.

Balde, 22, said: “It is my dream to win the title in Scotland with Celtic and to play for my national team. I chose Celtic because I thought they were the best choice for every aspect of my career.

“I have come off the back of a good season with Guimaraes and I feel the time is now right to make the jump to a big club.”

Balde was whisked from Glasgow Airport to Celtic Park for talks before heading to Ross Hall Hospital for a medical.
</section> <section class="pull-quote on-right">

It is my dream to win the title in Scotland with Celtic and to play for my national team.
Amido Balde
​

</section> <section class="text-description">The Guinea-Bissau-born player was flanked by former Chelsea striker Tommy Langley, an associate of his management team, and his uncle Catio Balde.

Premier League new boys Crystal Palace have been linked with the 6ft 4in hitman, but Langley insists they are out of the running and that Lennon’s team is his first choice.

Langley said: “He’s very, very keen to sign for Celtic. There are other clubs interested but Crystal Palace is now a non-runner.

“At the end of the day he’s here and we’re trying to get the deal done at Celtic and that’s the first priority.

“He wants to come here because it’s a fantastic football club which plays in the Champions League.

“The Champions League is just massive for footballers these days.

“It’s a great sounding board for players to test themselves and play top-class football. Why wouldn’t he want to come here?

“He’s a very happy boy now that he’s in Glasgow and has got a scarf around his neck but we’ll see where it goes from here.

“He’s got a couple of things to sort out but he’s very interested in coming here permanently.

“I don’t know when it will completed – that’s up to ourselves and Celtic to sort out. We’ve got a long way to go yet.

“You can see that he’s a big, strong lad. You wouldn’t want to pick him up at corners, would you?

“He’s very athletic and has a great touch. He’s a boy who’s ready now and can only get better.”
</section>

Balde, 22, said: “It is my dream to win the title in Scotland with Celtic and to play for my national team. I chose Celtic because I thought they were the best choice for every aspect of my career.

“I have come off the back of a good season with Guimaraes and I feel the time is now right to make the jump to a big club.”

 

Welcome to paradise big man!

 

Eff sake badge kissing already. He better be good.

 

He's a big *, aint he

 

Welcome to Paradise big man

 

Will wait for Celtic to announce it. But i am looking forward to seeing HOOper (if he stays) with a big target man.

Sammy and Balde in the CL will only strengthen us at set pieces


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People seem to think he's a future star. Hope they're right.

 

Just hope he's better than Murphy and Bangura.

 

It sounds as though he's rated amongst the people who watch him on a regular basis. I'm looking forward to seeing him in the hoops.

 

Putting unneccessary pressure on him already

 

People also seem to think he's signed!

 

Signed for Norwich

 

I'm hearing bad news I dont know how trustworthy tbh

 

You got link?

 

Sounds like a decent talent ... for less than £2 million, too. Quite the bargain for a player who just won a domestic cup in Portugal.