CELTIC fans could get their first glimpse of new Bhoy, Christopher Jullien, this Saturday when the Hoops take on Stade Rennais in a pre-season friendly at Paradise.

The highly-rated central defender joined Neil Lennon’s side from Toulouse at the end of last month, and having been working with his new team-mates since then, he’s looking forward to pulling on the Hoops.

Speaking exclusively to the official match programme, the 26-year-old Frenchman said: “I think Celtic fans are going to expect a lot from me because last year this team won everything, so you need to perform to a high standard to play for Celtic and I hope to do that

“That’s an exciting challenge for me. This team have won everything and they’ll expect me to bring something new to the team. I know the team has great spirit and is very close, and that helped them win everything last year.

“That’s a good kind of pressure to come in to and I can’t wait to take that on. I’m going to give everything to make my family, the fans and my team-mates happy and proud of me. I hope we can repeat what we did last year and add the Champions League to that.”

And should he play tomorrow, Jullien will be familiar with the opposition, having faced Stade Rennais in the French league last season.

“They have some good defenders so they will be very difficult to break down,” he said. “They are still a strong team now and they will strengthen this summer with some transfers.

“They’re going to keep the same mentality because their manager, Julien Stephan, came in halfway through last season and he brought a powerful mind-set. He did some good things with the team and they got some impressive results.

“They beat Arsenal in the Europa League, and then PSG in the cup final so they will be a confident team. The manager’s attitude is to never give up, and that has rubbed off on the players.

“This will be a great test for us and for the first game at Celtic Park this season, it will make for a great game.”

Read the full and exclusive interview with Christopher Jullien ONLY in the official match programme. On sale at Saturday's game.

You can be at Paradise this Saturday, July 13 to cheer on the Bhoys against Stade Rennais. There’s lots of free pre-match entertainment on the Celtic Way for all the family ahead of the game to, and there’s still time to book your place, with a limited number of tickets still available.

Full matchday details HERE

Christopher Jullien looking forward to first experience of Paradise