Virgo hopes English club in the stars for Celts

Adam Virgo hopes Celtic will take on an English club in this season’s Champions League as he prepares to finalise his move to Parkhead.

The defender is to cost £1.5m (€2.1m) from Brighton and, subject to a medical, will join the Hoops today.

Virgo said: “I would love to play an English team in the Champions League, and I hope we can qualify for the group stages. The Bernabeu (home of Real Madrid) is also a favourite of mine.”

Playing for Celtic, for whom Virgo is likely to feature at right-back, is likely to be a culture shock for the 22-year-old.

Virgo will have to get used to playing in front of crowds of 68,000 for his new club, a stark change from Brighton’s Withdean home, which has a capacity of only 7,000.

But Virgo – who hopes to further his Scottish international ambitions with Celtic – insists he will not be intimidated by his new surroundings.

“I played at the Millennium Stadium for Brighton [in the 2004 Division Two play-off final], and I am expecting Parkhead to be a bit like that,” he added.

“There was a crowd of [65,167] in Cardiff for that game, and I wasn’t particularly fazed by it, so I don’t think playing at Parkhead will be a problem.”