Junior Adamu joins Celtic on loan from SC Freiburg | OneFootball

Celtic this evening confirmed the first deadline day signing with perhaps one or two more to follow before the window closes at 11pm. Junior Adamu has joined the Hoops on loan until the end off the season with Celtic having secured an option to buy…

”I want to give my best for this club and try to win the title,” Junior Adamu

With Arne Engels possibly heading to Nottingham Forest ahead of the English window closing at 7pm, Celtic would have a few hours more to source a replacement as they more than double their money on the Belgian international midfielder signed by Brendan Rodgers on the simmer 2024 transfer window for £11m, a record fee paid by Celtic.

Arne Engels of Celtic celebrates scoring to give Celtic a 2-0 lead. Celtic v Dundee United, l Scottish Premiership, Football, Celtic Park, 10 January 2026. Photo Stuart Wallace Shutterstock

Will Engels go or will he stay with a move in the summer a back-up plan? We’ll find out shortly.

Meanwhile Celtic has secured the loan signing of Austrian internationalist, Junior Adamu, who has joined the Scottish Champions from SC Freiburg until the end of the season, subject to international clearance. Crucially Celtic has an option to buy, learning the lesson from the January window loan move for Adam Idah in 2023. Idah’s loan move was very successful helping Celtic win the title and scoring the winner I the Scottish Cup final over theRangers, and Norwich capitalised on that to force the transfer fee up to around £10m.

Adam Idah scores the winner for Celtic in the 2024 Scottish Cup Final against theRangers at Hampden. Photo Vagelis Georgariou for The Celtic Star

The 24-year-old forward, who has been capped nine times by his country, has made 29 appearances for Freiburg this season, scoring two goals including against Bologna in the Europa League.

He started his career with Austrian side, FC Liefering, spending three years there before joining RB Salzburg in 2020. After three years there, he moved to Germany, signing for SC Freiburg.

Martin O’Neill had this to say about the loan signing:

Martin O’Neill, Manager of Celtic, arrives at the stadium prior to the UEFA Europa League 2025/26 League Phase MD8 match between Celtic FC and FC Utrecht at Celtic Park on January 29, 2026. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

“We are really pleased to welcome Junior to Celtic. He has experience of high level football, firstly with RB Salzburg and of course in the German Bundesliga for the past few seasons. He has also been involved in European competition, so we are bringing in a talented, experienced, international forward to really enhance our attacking options.”

Speaking to Celtic TV, Junior Adamu said: “I’m very excited to be here and I can’t wait to get started. I want to give my best for this club and try win the title, also the cup, and to score a lot of goals and help the team, and I also want to improve as a player.

“I’ve spoken with the manager and he’s given me good motivation, and I trust him, he’s given me that trust, he’s told me how the system is and I feel the connection is really strong.

“I’m dangerous in the box and hungry for goals. That’s what the manager sees in me and I want to show that on the pitch. I can’t wait to be in the stadium, I’ve seen a lot of videos and it looks amazing, and I can’t wait to get started.”

Celtic in the Thirties by Matt Corr. Click on image to order

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