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Manny Perez has revealed that his move to Celtic in January was two years in the making.

The 19-year-old signed a three-and-a-half-year deal on transfer deadline day and instantly went out on loan to North Carolina.

After years of sending ageing European players over to North America the traffic is starting to reverse with younger Americans starting to pop up in the European game such as Timothy Weah.

With their extensive coaching background Perez and others are ideally suited to move to Europe where they can get the sort of club experience that isn’t yet available at home.

“It was a long process,” the 19-year-old told American Soccer Now about his January transfer.

“There was a lot to think about and I am thankful for the opportunity Celtic has given me – as well as my hometown club, North Carolina FC to given a chance to develop with them. But overall, I think it was the right move. It’s a great move to develop young players and play young players.

“My goal has always been to play in Europe so it wasn’t an opportunity I could pass on. Everyone in my family and coaches at States was helping push me to play with them.”

He added: “It all started when I was with the U-18 national team. We had a couple of camps in Spain and Portugal and Germany. Then two summers ago that is when Celtic first reached out to me. They saw me in Spain. I did really well and we just kept in communication.”

Perez will return to Celtic in June and could take part in pre-season training, where his ability and fitness can be assessed against the first team squad.

Another loan deal is likely but with Mikael Lustig, Cristian Gamboa and Jeremy Toljan all out of contract in May, Perez could find himself competing with Tony Ralston for the right-back slot.