Marco Tilio insists he never spoke to former Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou before arriving at the club on a five-year deal.
The ex-Melbourne City attacker signed on the dotted line to become Brendan Rodgers second signing of his second stint in Glasgow, following in the footsteps of Norwegian playmaker Odin Thiago Holm. Aussie Tilio will look to replace the void left by Treble winner Jota who upped sticks for Saudi Arabia last week, banking the Hoops a healthy £25million in the process. The 21-year-old will become an integral part of the new-look Celtic side after the Scottish champions shelved out £1.5m for his signature.
And while there had been some suggestion the winger was a Postecoglou target, Tilio says he first knew of interest from Glasgow some time ago, but insists he never directly conversed with his fellow countryman over a move.
He said: "I never spoke to Ange but I've spoken to the club for a number of years now. They had a plan for me and now with the new gaffer coming in, I spoke to him before I signed and he had a great plan for me and for the club. I just wanted to be a part of that.
"For me it's always been about just playing football and controlling what I can control, and that's performing on the field. With all these other things outside of football, I try and let everyone else deal with the outside stuff. It was always an ambition of mine to come to Europe. Since I moved to Melbourne City three years ago it's been my goal. Here I am, the opportunity has presented itself, and I can't wait to get started."
When pressed for exactly how long Celtic have been tracking him, he said: "Celtic have kept tabs on me for a couple of seasons. A move to Europe has always been on my mind, I don't know how much detail but I just want to focus on performing on the field.
"I spoke to Aaron Mooy before making my decision and he couldn't speak highly enough about the club and the people here. It caught my attention and made me realise how much I wanted to join this great club. I spoke to Brendan before I signed and he said I'm an exciting attacker and he likes to play an exciting brand of football. I like to excite the fans and I hope I can do that."
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