Derry City midfielder Pat McCourt revealed he rejected advances of several clubs before joining his boyhood idols Celtic in a surprise move last night.

The 24-year-old Northern Ireland international agreed a three-year undisclosed deal with the SPL champions after passing a medical at Glasgow's Ross Hall hospital and will join up with Gordon Strachan's squad for pre-season training.

Court attracted the attention of a number of English clubs as a youngster at Rochdale and was believed to be on the verge of signing for West Brom before Celtic expressed interest.

"I'm thrilled and it still hasn't quite sunk in yet to be honest," said McCourt on the club's website, celticfc.net.

"This is a dream come true for me. There was interest from a few clubs but as soon as I found out that Celtic were in for me, my mind was made up.

"I have always been a Celtic supporter and there was only one choice to make. It's an honour to join one of the biggest clubs in the world.

"It's been a whirlwind 24 hours, but I'm just delighted to get everything sorted out. To sign for this club is a dream and when I get back home tonight, it might all finally sink in. It's just been an incredible day.

Celtic are understood to have offered double the £50,000 West Brom were prepared to pay for McCourt plus another amount of similar value when he plays 10 first team games for the Scottish giants.

Celtic also agreed to play a two friendly matches in Derry, one on October 7th and one in July next year - potentially worth more than £250,000 to the League of Ireland club.

"Celtic have won the SPL title three times in a row and compete in the Champions League every season," added a delighted McCourt.

"What more could you ask for"

"My first target is to get a good pre-season under my belt and then take it from there. The quality in the Celtic squad is unbelievable but I'll be trying to push my way into the manager's plans as soon as possible.

"I can't wait to get started."