“I know tomorrow is going to be a big game,”Julian Araujo

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The Celtic Star

·2 de enero de 2026

“I know tomorrow is going to be a big game,”Julian Araujo

Wilfried Nancy’s first signing for Celtic – Mexican defender Julian Araujo – spoke to the mainstream media today at Lennoxtown ahead of tomorrow Glasgow Derby against theRangers at Celtic Park. Julian Araujo looks set to start as Nancy looks for a desperately needed win after yet another defeat at Fir Park against Motherwell earlier in the week. Here’s everything that was said…

Julian Araujo of Celtic – new loan signing from Bournemouth poses with a Celtic jersey. Celtic Team Training and press conference, 2 Jan Gary 2026. Stuart Wallace/Shutterstock

Q: Julian, can you tell us how it feels to be here as a Celtic player and how the move first came about?

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Julian Araujo: “Yeah, obviously my agent gave me a call and told me that Celtic were interested and I was very excited. Obviously, it’s a historic club, a club where a lot of success comes. I’m excited to be a part of it. I’m excited to be here, help my team and hopefully bring a little bit of joy to the fans and just excited to work.”

Q: What has the manager said to you and how involved is he in the process of your signing?

Julian Araujo: “Yeah, he was involved. I had a conversation with him before coming, obviously. I wanted to know where I would be playing, what style. But yeah, I’ve played against him in the MLS. He’s had teams where they’re always attack-minded, a team that runs, a team that are hard to break down. So, I have a lot of confidence in him. I know he trusts me. I know he knows my playing style. So, yeah, I was excited to get to work with him.”

Julian Araujo of Celtic – new loan signing from Bournemouth at Celtic Team Training on 2 January 2026. Stuart Wallace/Shutterstock

Q: Where does he see you fitting into the shape that you’ll be playing? Is it a right centre-back, a right wing-back? Could you play both?

Julian Araujo: “Yeah, obviously. I’ve played both before with the national team and in Las Palmas. But yeah, just depending on the game and how he sees the game, I’m available to play wing-back or in the back three.”

Q: How did you find playing against Wilfried Nancy’s sides?

Julian Araujo: “Yeah, very difficult, very difficult. He’s a person that wants to attack, a person that’s very intense, that gives his player confidence. So, yeah, I’m excited to get to work with him and hopefully learn from him.

Julian Araujo of Celtic – new loan signing from Bournemouth at Celtic Team Training on 2 January 2026. Stuart Wallace/Shutterstock

Q: It obviously hasn’t quite gone to plan for him so far at still early stages. But from what you’ve seen of his teams previously, are you quite confident that you’ll be able to get it right here?

Julian Araujo: “Oh, yeah, for sure. I’m confident in him. I’m sure the whole squad is behind his back. I’ve heard great things. I’ve asked a couple of teammates of mine, players that have played against him, players that know him, before I came here, and they’ve all said only good things about him. And when I’ve had that call with him, I got positive vibes. And yeah, I’m very confident that something good can come out of this. Obviously, it’s a new manager, a new team. It’s always, you need time, just like players. We need time to adapt to our teammates. But yeah, obviously, yeah, we trust him. I trust him. So, I know he can turn this around.”

Q: Of those people you spoke to, what were the qualities they said that the manager had?

Julian Araujo: “Yeah, the qualities is obviously just his playing style, his playing style, the way that he plays with the back five, obviously. His wing backs are versatile, can go up and down. He likes to keep the ball from one side to the other side, to be patient, to attack when the attack is right, to defend, not always to defend at a high intensity, but to maintain and know when to defend and when to press. But yeah, you can see it in the training sessions. I’ve been here for two, three days now, and you can see the intensity that he tries to give to the players. And I’m sure it’s going to, I’m sure it’ll do us good.”

Julian Araujo of Celtic – new loan signing from Bournemouth poses with a Celtic jersey. Celtic Team Training and press conference, 2 Jan Gary 2026. Stuart Wallace/Shutterstock

Q: A huge game tomorrow. How much are you looking forward to potentially being a part of that?

Julian Araujo: “Yeah, so obviously I know what this game is about, but as being here, I’m excited to be a part of this game. I’m excited not only for this game, but for the rest of the second half of the season. I know tomorrow is going to be a big game, obviously, but we’ve got to stay humble, keep our feet on the ground and know what we’ve got to do. Went over what we needed to do today, so I think tomorrow is just to implement it and to be confident and go out there and play a game.”

Q: You’re going to need a few weeks to get up to speed. Are you ready to start tomorrow?

Julian Araujo: “No, I’m ready if the gaffer needs me.”

Q: Have you had any indications yet if he’s intended to use you?

Julian Araujo: “I don’t know yet.”

Julian Araujo of Celtic – new loan signing from Bournemouth at Celtic Team Training on 2 January 2026. Stuart Wallace/Shutterstock

Q: Have you had any previous links at all with Celtic?

Julian Araujo: “Oh yeah, I think when I was in MLS, I had an opportunity to come to Celtic about two, three years ago.

Q: Who was the manager here? Ange Postecoglou?

Julian Araujo: “Maybe, I think. Yeah, I’m not sure, but it just came about. It was more just like interest and got to my agent and stuff like that.”

Q: How did it not happen at that point?

Julian Araujo: “I looked at all my options and what was best for me and my career and I thought going to Barcelona came, I think it was, in the last thing. So I think it was just, oh, I want to do whatever it takes because I obviously came up through the academy at the Barca academy and my goal was always to play for Barcelona. So, as a kid, one of my dreams was to play for Barcelona and I just said, let’s do it.”

Julian Araujo of Celtic – new loan signing from Bournemouth at Celtic Team Training on 2 January 2026. Stuart Wallace/Shutterstock

Q: Is Celtic versus theRangers game something you were always used to kind of growing up watching on TV? Is it something that’s quite big over in the States?

Julian Araujo: “It’s big worldwide. This game is something that everybody looks forward to playing and it’s a game, not just this game, but derbies are games that we want to live and we want to experience. So, yeah, for me, it’s obviously just another game, but I want to be a part of it and hopefully we can get the three points.”

Q: You mentioned you’ve been here for a few days now with a couple of training sessions. I just wonder how you assess the squad, what you think of the players that Wilfried has here?

Julian Araujo: “Yeah, everybody has quality. I mean, you’re playing for a club like Celtic, obviously you have the quality to play for them. So, yeah, they’re all good guys. They’ve made the transition very easy for me. You know, I’m still in a hotel. I’m still doing the transition and the moving around. But yeah, everybody, the staff, everybody that’s involved with Celtic have made it very easy for me. So, yeah, the players are very good. And I’m sure whoever, the starting 11 and anybody that comes on is going to be ready for tomorrow.”

Julian Araujo of Celtic – new loan signing from Bournemouth at Celtic Team Training on 2 January 2026. Stuart Wallace/Shutterstock

Q: Considering the training sessions you’ve had, if you are called upon to start or play a part against (the)Rangers tomorrow, do you feel you’re up to speed enough with what the manager wants from his team that you can go in and make an impact straight away?

Julian Araujo: “I’m going to give you everything I can. I’m going to do whatever I can. If I need to, I don’t know, if I fall, if I collapse on the pitch, then I collapse on the pitch. But I’ll give you everything I need to be able to stay up to speed with my teammates.”

Welcome to Celtic, Julian.