Celtic Through And Through​​​​​​​

Youssouf Mulumbu has only just made his debut but he is feeling the passion of the club already

- Tony Connelly

IN football, four months out of action can feel like a lifetime and returning after such a lengthy period on the sidelines can seem like an insurmountable challenge. But, Youssouf Mulumbu did just that on Sunday when he experienced one of the proudest moments of his career as he pulled on the Celtic shirt to make his club debut.

The 31-year-old Congolese midfielder joined the Scottish champions last month during the summer transfer window after seeing out his contract at Kilmarnock. The former West Brom man was a standout player in the Scottish Premiership last season and even dealt Celtic a blow when he scored against the eventual Double Treble winners at Rugby Park to hand Killie a win.

He was confident that his exploits in the Scottish top flight would allow him to take a step up and meet a new challenge in his career. That eventually came at the end of August when Brendan Rodgers brought Mulumbu to Paradise.

Not having a club during the summer meant Mulumbu missed out on a pre-season work-out, but he kept himself sharp with his own vigorous training schedule. When Celtic came calling, Mulumbu had no hesitation in seizing what he described as a once in a lifetime opportunity to play with a team like Celtic.

All that time without playing, though, meant he had a task on his hands upon joining his new team. Not only had Mulumbu to compete for a place in a team which has dominated Scottish football for the past two years, he had to get up to the incredible fitness levels which can only be attained through playing games and training with Celtic.

After a few weeks, Brendan Rodgers deemed Mulumbu ready and the former Paris Saint-Germain academy graduate was named in the starting XI to face his former side, Kilmarnock.