JOHANNESBURG: South Africa centre-back Rivaldo Coetzee has joined Scottish champions Celtic, an Ajax Cape Town official confirmed Tuesday.
Neither the transfer fee nor the length of the contract were disclosed, and the deal is subject to the 20-year-old passing a medical and receiving a visa.
In a website statement, Ajax said Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers believes "Coetzee is a perfect fit as he is a ball-playing, dual-footed centre-back with an impressive array of pass(es)".
Coetzee equalised for Ajax last Saturday with a header off a corner in a 1-1 draw against Golden Arrows in the opening round of the South African league season.
First capped by his country when only 17, Coetzee has made 23 international appearances and was part of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games squad.
He will hope to follow the footsteps of Kenya midfielder Victor Wanyama, who established himself at Celtic before becoming a Tottenham Hotspur star.
Former European champions Celtic are the dominant force in Scottish football with a 2-0 win at Kilmarnock last weekend stretching an unbeaten domestic run to 52 matches.
The Hoops reached the group stage of the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday with an 8-4 aggregate victory over Astana of Kazakhstan.