Belgian club Genk have announced the permanent signing of Eboue Kouassi from Scottish Premiership champions Celtic.
The 22-year-old midfielder joined the Bhoys in January 2017 for a fee of around £3 million from Russian Premier League side Krasnodar.
The Ivorian only made 22 appearances for Neil Lennon’s Celtic before he moved to the Belgian side on loan in January.
Kouassi only featured four times for Genk in the 2019-20 season, owing to an injury problem and the outbreak of the coronavirus which forced the Belgian First Division A to an abrupt conclusion.
On Thursday, the Blue-White heralded the permanent signing of the midfielder after agreeing to a four-year deal with the side, which will keep him at Luminus Arena until 2024.
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The Ivorian will permanently link up with Nigeria duo of Paul Onuachu and Stephen Odey and Ghana’s Joseph Paintsil.
Since his January move, the midfielder has played against Oostende, Club Brugge, Kortrijk and Sporting Charleroi.
Genk, who finished seventh in the 2019-20 season, will hope the addition of the midfielder will help them compete for the league title next season.
Kouassi started his career in Ivory Coast, joining Academie Symbiose Foot d'Abobo in 2010 before moving to Shirak in 2014.
The midfielder later departed the Armenian club after a short spell to team up with the youth setup of Krasnodar and in 2016 he was promoted to the first team of the Russian side.
On the international scene, Kouassi is yet to feature for Ivory Coast and will hope to impress with his Belgian club to boost his chances with the Elephants.