IT is fair to say that Celtic have successfully managed to unearth a few rough diamonds as they have mined the outer reaches of European football for new talent in recent years.

So it was little surprise when it emerged on Tuesday that Kouassi Eboue, a 19-year-old Ivorian who plays for Russian club Krasnodar, was poised to become their first acquisition of the January transfer window.

Eboue fits all the criteria of the Parkhead club’s hugely successful signing policy; the teenager is little-known and isn’t playing in a top league, but he has undoubted talent and has shown enormous potential.

So, could the African youngster be set, in time, to become the Scottish champions’ latest Moussa Dembele, Virgil van Dijk or Victor Wanyama?

Can the player, who was at Celtic Park for talks this morning, feature for Brendan Rodgers’s side at home and abroad before being sold on for a substantial profit?

Celtic fans took to the internet earlier this week when it emerged Eboue was being targeted to search for online video footage of the defensive midfielder and found precious little evidence – aside from him netting an opportunist goal and being sent off for head-butting an opposing player at a free-kick – that he will be.

However, Toke Theilade, the Danish editor-in-chief of the Russian Football News website, has watched the player in action in both the Russian Premier League and Europa League believes he will be the latest astute bit of business carried out by Celtic in the transfer market.

“I’m surprised that Krasnodar have let him go this early because I think they will probably get a lot more for him at a later date,” said Theilade of a player who Celtic have agreed to pay a £2.8 million fee for.

"Many people were surprised when Krasnodar signed Eboué, as Russian clubs rarely sign young African players who aren’t ready for first team football straight away.

“Furthermore, because of the strict limits on foreign players in the Russian Premier League, foreigners brought to the country, especially at the bigger clubs, are more often than not players who can raise the level of the team from the beginning, which wasn’t the case with Eboué.

“However, after getting one game last season, he has been impressive for Krasnodar this season, and he has become a first team regular.

“Krasnodar do have a good number of foreign players though, so it is always a bit of a puzzle for head coach Igor Shalimov to set up his starting lineup. This could also be a part of the reason for his departure.

“But Eboué is a fairly complete midfielder with no major weaknesses in the technical part of the game. However, he does have his strengths as a defensive midfielder, acting as the garbage man in front of the defenders, and he is a strong tackler. He is also good at reading the game, allowing him to intercept passes from the opponents.

“It is however important not to limit him to simply being a holding midfielder, as he does have a good vision for the game, and is able also contribute in the offensive part of the game with his passing abilities and decent dribbling abilities.”

Krasnodar, who were granted professional status in Russia eight years ago and are bankrolled by wealthy businessman Sergey Galitsky, have done well enough to qualify for the Europa League in each of the last three seasons.

Eboue has helped them excel against Nice, Red Bull Salzburg Schalke 04 in Group I in recent months and reach the knockout rounds of that competition, and book a last 32 double header against Turkish giants Fenerbahce, for the first time.

The Ivorian, who has made no secret of his desire to play in the Champions League in the future, only made his first team debut at the end of last season and Theilade confirmed that his rise to prominence in Russia has been dramatic.

“After leaving the Ivory Coast, Eboue moved to Armenia to join Shirak,” he said. “However, since he hadn’t turned 18, he wasn’t allowed to play professionally, so he only played with the youth teams.

“He then received an offer for a trial at Krasnodar, with whom he eventually signed a youth contract. In Russia he faced the same problem, though, meaning he had to play with the amateur Krasnodar-3 team until he turned 18. He regularly trained with the first team though.

“He did sign a professional contract when he turned 18, but since he wasn’t a profile on the team at the time, he is far from one of the best paid players in the squad.

“Krasnodar do have the financial means to pay their players well, and they are one of the top teams in Russia. Last season they defeated Dortmund in the Europa League for example, and they are still in the Europa League this season.

“It is a young club, established in 2008, and they don’t have a lot of history yet. Since the founding, they have moved quickly up the ranks, and owner Sergey Galitsky has proven to be one of the most far-sighted and skilled leaders in Russian football.

“The biggest star in the squad is striker Fyodor Smolov, last season’s top scorer in the Russian Premier League. He could soon be in for a move to a big club, and has been linked with Dortmund among others.

“Krasnodar changed their head coach in September, and the current head coach Igor Shalimov, has had all his focus on salvaging the season after a disappointing start.”

But Theilade confirmed that Eboue, like Dembele, Van Dijk and Wanyama, is far from the finished article and has had issues with his immaturity since forcing his way into the starting line-up at Krasnodar this season.

The footage of the league game with Gazovik Orenburg in November underlines this. After being red carded by the referee, he drops to his knees in disbelief and slams his fists into the ground before being urged to get off the park by one of his team mates. As he makes his way off the field the emotional player can clearly be seen fighting back tears.

“He is temperamental,” said Theilade. “And combined with his inexperience, it has caused problems for him. However, since his physical presence on the pitch is so impressive, it is also easy to forget that he is still only 19-years old, and has only played around 20 games at the highest level.

“He does have a huge talent, but he also needs a bit of work before being ready for the big move. While his work rate is impressive, he’ll probably need to bulk up a bit, and add some muscles to his body. He is still a raw talent.”

The highest-paid players at Krasnodar are Swedish defender Andreas Granqvist and Burkina Faso midfielder Charles Kabore who both earn around €2 million a year – some way short of €7 million that Brazilian striker Hulk pocketed each season when he was at Zenit St. Petersburg.

But Eboue, who has still to agree personal terms with Celtic and secure a work permit to play in Scotland, will only have been paid a fraction of what his more experienced team mates received and will increase his salary substantially if he completes his move to Glasgow.

Theilade is confident it will be money very well spent. “I think Kouassi is the sort of player who Celtic will be able to sell for a lot of money to a bigger club in a few years when he has developed further as a player,” he said.