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Charly Musonda says playing at Celtic Park will be "unreal"

Chelsea midfielder Charly Musonda has joined Celtic on an 18-month loan.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers had been keen to sign Musonda last summer, but Chelsea decided against the move.

Rodgers says Belgian Musonda, 21, is a "big talent" and hinted the player could feature against Hearts on Tuesday evening.

Musonda told CelticTV: "I feel really good. Massive club, really looking forward to it. I'm very lucky to be here and I'm very happy to be here."

"It was quite close last summer," he explained.

"I came and then it didn't happen and now, spoke with the manager a couple of weeks ago and sort of had the feeling that this is where I'm going to come and play my football.

"It's going to be unreal to play at Celtic Park. Hopefully I can do well for the team."

Musonda joined Chelsea in 2012 from Anderlecht along with older brothers Tika and Lamisha, and signed a contract extension in March 2015.

After a previous loan spell with Real Betis in Spain's La Liga, the Belgium Under-21 international broke into the Chelsea first team this season, scoring once in seven appearances.

However, all but two of those have been from the bench and he was an unused substitute in Sunday's 3-0 FA Cup win over Newcastle United.

Rodgers has said he wants to add quality to his squad before the transfer window closes on Wednesday to bolster his options for the Europa League tie against Zenit St Petersburg on 15 February.

"I've known him for a few years," the Celtic manager said. "A big thank you must go to Chelsea. He's a shining light in their academy.

"There were 24 other clubs interested in signing him.

"It's a great opportunity for him to show his talents. He has wonderful ability and is very dynamic. He'll bring creativity to our side."