Leo Hjelde hopes to use his loan spell with Ross County to stake a claim for Celtic’s first team next season.
Norwegian defender Hjelde was handed his senior debut in Saturday’s 5-0 Premiership defeat by Rangers, less than 24 hours after finalising his loan move to the Staggies.
The 17-year-old is a highly-rated prospect at Parkhead, having made the switch from Rosenborg in 2019.
Hjelde was recently on Celtic’s bench in the Hoops’ 1-1 draw with Hibernian, in which 13 senior players missed out after having to self-isolate due to Christopher Julien testing positive for Covid-19.
Having now been sent out on loan by Hoops manager Neil Lennon in order to gain first team experience, Hjelde hopes he can kick on from his first outing against the Gers.
Hjelde said: “It was a tough experience against a very good team.
“We were playing against the best team in Scotland right now, and you learn from the best as well.
“I came to Ross County to get some game time, to get experience and hopefully show Celtic that I can play next season.
“I think it could be a very good spell for me. I just need to keep myself up and hopefully I can be playing.”
Hjelde says his new County team-mates and manager John Hughes have made a strong initial impression on him during his early days at Victoria Park, and he added: “I came up earlier in the week but the signing didn’t go through until Friday.
“It has been good, I have enjoyed training with the lads and I’ve got a good feel for them.
“It’s a good group. They have been including me in the group and they have been very nice.
“The manager has been brilliant. He is a nice character and he knows what he’s doing. He has been preparing me very well for the move.”
Hjelde joins a Staggies team who are scrapping for Premiership survival, but despite Saturday’s defeat they go into Wednesday’s game against Motherwell in 10th place with a point separating them from both the Steelmen and Hamilton Accies.
The left-sided defender aims to show a strong response, adding: “When you play against the toughest team in the league right now, it was always going to be difficult.
“The game is over now so we just have to look onwards to the next game against Motherwell on Wednesday, and that’s what we are looking forward to.”
Hughes is confdient Hjelde can make a strong impact during his stint in the Highlands, and he said: “Leo has got a massive future in front of him. I have seen him many times playing for Celtic.
“That 90 minutes will do him no harm. He has not played a lot of football. He was cramping up towards the end.
“He’s got a big part to play for us in our challenge ahead.
“I’m just delighted to get him on board. He made one or two mistakes but you can see how brave he is on the ball. He will be better for 90 minutes.”
