Celtic has completed the signing of Manchester City winger Patrick Roberts on an 18-month loan. The Premier League team brought in the 18-year-old from Fulham for a reported £12million last July, but he has made just three substitute appearances this season.
Roberts will now have the opportunity to gain more regular action at Celtic, which also took Jason Denayer – now at Galatasaray – on loan from City last season and signed Dedryck Boyata from the Premier League club last June. Celtic manager Ronny Deila had previously suggested he would only be open to making loan signings in this window if he could secure them for a longer period than six months, which he has been able to achieve with Roberts.
Outgoing City manager Manuel Pellegrini confirmed the move was imminent on Friday and insisted the Englishman remains part of the club's long-term plans. "He is a very good player and I am sure that Patrick will be a very important player here in the future," said the manager. "I thought it was important that he trained with our first team for the first half of the season. But to play more games for him at Celtic will be better than to stay here and just play some games. It will be a very important option for him."
Meanwhile, City midfielder Bruno Zuculini has joined AEK Athens on loan until the end of the season.
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