KOLO TOURE is dreaming of a first Champions League clash with his not-so-little brother Yaya.

Celtic could today draw Manchester City in the group stage which would put the Ivory Coast’s most famous footballers against one another.

This is something the sibling now earning a living in Scotland would cherish.

Toure said: “It’s always good to play against big clubs, but at the same time we are a big club as well. We are looking forward to it and will try to do it as well as we can.

“It would be nice to play against my brother. It won’t be the first time and it would be really exciting. Do I have a good record against him? Hmm, I don’t know, I would have to check that.

“He has been winning a few games and I have been wining some as well when we’ve played against one another.

“We have never played against one another in the Champions League. That would be a really good thing for the family and I hope the young brother will let me win.”

Toure is as impressive as a person as he is a footballer. While the team as a whole had more than a few issues against Hapoel Be’er Sheva, the 35-year-old, who played in the 2006 Champions League final for Arsenal, stood tall and made more clearances and blocks than anyone else in those frantic final minutes of their 2-0 defeat, which saw Celtic progress 5-4 on aggregate.

But he’s not only at Celtic to play, he joined the club to teach as well. The likes of Kieran Tierney can only learn from playing and training beside a guy who has spent almost his entire career at the top end of English football, winning league titles with Arsenal and Manchester City, and the two have hit it off.

Toure said: “The chance to play in the Champions League is why I came here. Everywhere I go I like a challenge. I want to do my best for the club, team, for everyone and for myself.

“I am enjoying the games. I like to play, I like to help the young players and help them improve themselves. That is a real honour for me.

“I have been through so much, I am 35 now, and I know what it takes to play at the top.

“So for me I want to help KT, to guide him, which is very important to me. There are some really good young players here, they have great talent and I want to help them.

“KT is a top young player. He has great talent and is working hard. He has a very good mentality and I enjoy playing with him.

"All the young players will improve, and I am sure they will enjoy the Champions League games because you can only really learn by playing in those types of games.

“He is so young, but you can see he is improving and will improve in the future by playing these types of games. Of course, it will be challenging but KT and the rest definitely have the talent.”

Celtic are far from the finished article and they got past Hapoel by the skin of their teeth. However, they are in the Champions League again, with a new manager, team and philosophy, all of which which had to gel in a matter of weeks.

Toure said: “It is good we got through. It was a very important win for the team and it was a tough game in Israel, but the most important thing is we have qualified. Of course, we want to do well in the group stages, every game is important and I am definitely looking forward to it.

“The manager has just come in, he’s trying to bring a new style of play to the team and you can see we attack really well, we press and tactically we are good. The most important part for me is that we focus on our own game.

“There is a big game coming up on Saturday [against Aberdeen] and we need to concentrate on that. We take it game by game, the Champions League will come, and we are only thinking about what happens next.

“We are really happy we have qualified but the most important thing this week is Aberdeen.”

There are big leagues games coming up, including a certain derby, but just being in what many correctly still to refer to as the European Cup does give Celtic more of a profile.

Toure said: “I think Celtic have always been one of the top clubs in the world. It is always difficult for us to get through these group stages but we really, really want to do it.

“We have a young team, plus the manager came here not long ago, but you can tell we work hard, do everything he asks, and that is really, really good.”