Gubala striker Rauf Aliyev has backed his teammate Bahlul Mustafazada to be a success at Celtic if the Scottish champions take him on trial.

The 22-year-old’s contract at the Azeri club expires in the summer, and the defender has been tipped to join the Hoops.

Aliyev is backing Mustafazada to perform well if Celtic do decide to sign him on a long term deal:

“I read about the interest about him from Celtic and I believe this would be a very good move for him. He’s young and still learning, but he is a top prospect for Azerbaijan.”

“Every day I see him working by himself to get better and stronger. He’s very dedicated to try and become a top player. If he continues to progress like this, I have no doubt at all he will go on and play in one of the top European leagues. He is certainly capable of it.”

The player himself has already said he is open to the move, but it remains to be seen whether the centre-back is up to the task of playing in Scotland.

Mustafazada only broke into Gubala’s first team this season, making 24 appearances in all competitions, including two Europa League qualifiers.

His side are currently fourth out of eight teams in the Premyer Liqasi table and have the third-best defensive record, having conceded 27 in 25 league games this campaign.

However, the level of football in Azerbaijan is not the highest, with the country ranked six places below Scotland in UEFA’s country coefficients.