I was determined to make instant impact, says new Celtic star Benjamin Nygren

Some Celtic fans might have been surprised to see Benjamin Nygren fast-tracked into the team, but the Sweden midfielder was in no mood to wait in the wings.

The summer signing from Nordsjaelland grabbed his first goal for the club when he swept home Kieran Tierney’s low cross to put Celtic in front at Aberdeen on Sunday.

The 24-year-old hit the bar on his debut against St Mirren the previous weekend after being preferred to the likes of club record signing Arne Engels, Luke McCowan and Paulo Bernardo in Brendan Rodgers’ starting line-up.

After hitting 15 goals in the Danish top flight last season and scoring twice in his first four internationals, Nygren was intent on making his mark early.

“I didn’t come here to not play,” Nygren said. “So of course I came here to try to come in fast and also show my abilities in training and training games. So of course I came here to help the team win games.”

Nygren also set up Reo Hatate’s goal in a 2-0 William Hill Premiership win over the Dons, although he was quick to play down his role in the Japanese midfielder’s wonderful finish.

However, he could have had a special assist moments later when he played a deft ball over the top which Daizen Maeda latched on to before losing his footing as he ran towards goal.

Nygren knows there is a demand to contribute when he gets game time for Celtic, given the strength in depth in Rodgers’ midfield.

“It’s part of football, that’s how it is in big clubs,” the former IFK Gothenburg player said.

“It would be weird if there were only 11 good players in such a big team as Celtic. I think we have, I don’t know how many, 25-30 good players in Celtic, but only 11 can start the game.

“It’s a very long season and now we’ve only played our two first games, so we will need a lot of players and a lot of good quality players. I think we have that.”

Nygren’s goal and his near miss against St Mirren both came from similar moves, with the Swede arriving on to a low ball from the left.

“That’s also why I scored many goals last season, because I can run a lot,” he said. “I always come a little bit from behind.”

Nygren started in central midfield and finished the game on the wing and is happy to show his versatility.

“I think it’s preferably like I started the game, but I’m a player that has played a lot of positions, so for me I don’t think too much of the positions, it’s football,” he said. “You need football intelligence. It’s all football.”