In the aftermath of Wednesday’s game, nobody wanted to be overly critical of any Celtic player who featured, but I saw a number of barbs online directed at one of our own. And I’m not even talking about Greg Taylor, who, as usual, got his fair share of nasty comments. I even hinted at my own dissatisfaction with his performance when I said Kieran Tierney would transform how we look on the left side of the pitch.
But it isn’t Taylor I have in mind here. It’s Arne Engels.
Engels is still one of those players who has eyes on him—unfriendly eyes.
Some people are waiting for this boy to make a mistake, to screw up, to prove he’s not worth the money Celtic paid. And some of those people are our own fans. That’s not up for debate. The media, too, can’t wait to poke holes in the idea that we’ve signed a top footballer.
I’m not even ascribing this to bias. There’s a weird Scottishness to it, a strange desire to tear someone down just as they’re about to succeed. I don’t know where this trait in the Scottish mindset comes from, but it exists, and it’s not particularly nice. But in Engels’ case, I think all the people hoping he fails—none of whom are Celtic fans, of course—are going to be sorely disappointed.
Because there’s definitely a footballer of quality in there.
You can see it a mile away if you’re not obsessively focused on finding flaws in his game. It’s unusual for us to spend so much money on a player in this bracket. I’ll explain that in a moment because it’s central to the point of this piece. But I hope it’s the way we continue to do business because it’s the kind of strategy that could lead to rapid improvement in this team and shock a lot of people.
For years now, Celtic have gone down the so-called ‘project’ route. We’ve looked for players who haven’t yet made their name, who haven’t flashed on the big stage and been snapped up by superclubs down south or elsewhere. We generally pay between £2-3 million for these aspiring stars. Engels is different. This is the first time we’ve spent a substantial sum to bring such a young player to Celtic. And yes, that’s a risk. But it’s not a huge one.
Because for us to take the plunge like this, Engels had to be that little bit better. There had to be something special about his talents to justify the outlay. And I am 100% convinced that he is exactly as good as the club believes.
Engels himself said it after the game, and it’s worth repeating. He’s only 21. He’s the youngest player in our first-team squad aside from Dane Murray, and any discussion about him should start with that simple fact. Engels isn’t a ‘project signing,’ even if he fits the profile of one.
He was signed from a club playing top-level football in a top-tier league. How good is he, potentially? Just look at his career so far and remind yourself—he’s only 21.
This kid broke through at Club Brugge’s second string, playing more than 30 games before Augsburg took him to the Bundesliga.
He moved to Germany at just 18 and played over 50 times in one of the best leagues in the world. That’s an outstanding pedigree. This wasn’t some kid who had played a handful of matches, as many of our ‘projects’ have. This was a guy playing in a top five European league.
Last season, he played 32 times in the Bundesliga and was so impressive that he earned his first Belgium international caps—four of them. And let me repeat that. He has four caps for Belgium and over 50 Bundesliga appearances at 21 years old.
He’s also scored nine goals for Celtic already, granted, most of them from the penalty spot. But that doesn’t stop the media fawning over James Tavernier, and it shouldn’t stop them doing the same for this guy. He’s ice-cool from the spot.
This is his first season in Scotland, and anyone expecting him to tear this league up straight away isn’t thinking properly. He’s adapting to a new environment, developing his game, and learning a lot.
But a player who managed 50 games in Germany before we even got to him is not someone I have any doubts about. If we hadn’t moved fast, he would have been snapped up by a bigger Bundesliga club, or one in France, Italy, or even England.
We moved quickly because he’s special. His CV is special. We paid more than usual for a player his age, and ideally, that kind of money is spent on someone with more experience. But I’d argue that he does have experience—valuable experience. And that’s all the more incredible considering his age.
And if he was already good enough for us to take this chance, there’s an untapped level of potential still waiting to be unlocked. I think we’ll start to see the best of him next season.
And the best of Arne Engels is likely to be very, very good indeed. By the time it emerges, a lot of people will want to forget they ever doubted him.
Photo by Craig Williamson/SNS Group via Getty Images
AE is a huge talent but he is as raw as sushi.
The step up in physicality this season has been beyond him.
He has struggled all season and got done over in full view on Wednesday.
Consequently work to do but he is well worth the effort.
Bigger issue is the MF around him — no real experience to learn from.
How we miss someone like Aaron Mooy to help him develop.
CMcG is struggling with his role / his responsibilities / his age.
While RH is working on his stamina / PB has hit a slow patch / LMcC is just in the door and is still learning himself how to deal with our challenges.
Another big miss in Jan — some established legs to share the load / provide leadership.
We are in a great place regarding talent in most areas but we lack football nous / game smarts / big match experience / real leadership which is a miss for young players like AE.
AE — his football howlers vs his undoubted talent can be a tough watch when we are under the cosh as Wednesday night proved.
We need to recruit well to support him and PB plus offer a stage for RH.
Even at 60 — PMcS could still do a job for us.
Missing link — his type of talent / game would transform us.
Yep madmitch – He could certainly do with a midfield enforcer to help him along the way given the Thuggery and often unpunished Thuggery in guid Old Scottish Football !
I can often understand the criticism of our players but I have always found Engels criticism to be strange. I don’t think he has ever had a particularly atrocious game for us. Yes there have maybe been some underwhelming performances but I they tend to be when the team overall aren’t firing.
I think Engels will grow to be a huge player for us. He has a tremendous work rate & his vision for a pass is superb. I particularly like he has a bit of arrogance about him. 2-1 down against Bayern & he’s willing to try a flick to send Jota through. It didn’t come off but to be willing to try that on that stage he will go far in his career.
I really do think the reason Taylor was our only poor performer against Bayern. Others maybe made slight mistakes but he just isn’t good enough to cope at that level.
We speak about wanting to take the next step in the competition & the improving the squad to compete with the big guns & GT is not a part of that. We should thank him for his service & be happy to see him move on & come off the wage bill to bring someone else in.
I think Schlupp starts on Tuesday & by the end of March will be our starting LB.
Taylor’s technically a good player but unfortunately lacks the physicality required for his position.
Hope Schlupp starts on Tuesday.
I’d been thinking till recently that perhaps Luke or Paulo could start ahead of Arne. However he’s started upping his game now and I thought he didn’t look out of place on that stage on Wednesday. Before long he’ll be looking like good value for money.
Yes, being a betting man AE is my new scorer for my weekly scorecast.
With Bernardo being out injured for about 5 weeks we are looking a bit light in midfield.
Wonder if one of the younger players will come into the squad or Schlupp is used in midfield.
I’m not sure what to make of Engels yet. I don’t think for a minute when we splashed out 11M on him that Brendan’s thinking was, because he is only 21, we need to give him a season to settle in. I mean that’s total bollocks, his age shouldn’t matter, but the price tag does, and at that price he should really be asserting himself in the SPL. The signs are there that there is better to come, I really do hope so, but we shouldn’t have to wait this long for him to get into top gear. As the old saying goes, If you’re good enough, you’re old enough.
He’s good enough and old enough and is probably the strongest development player we’ve brought to the club. There’s a reason for that outlay. A wee bit of patience is required therefore as of course he’s yet to reach developed.
I fancy your right about the next or the next couple of seasons bringing him up to a standard we can all be impressed with if not overwhelmed.
Attracting a real quality centre forward to the SPL may prove beyond us currently. Whomever we get will be a risk but I guess it’s got to be one worth taking.
CB is still an area where strengthening is required. If we can add that bit more steel at the back (not sure if the Sheffield steel American we have is enough but maybe as it’s early yet) and a CM with a toughness Calmac doesn’t have and with it a bit more height.
Keep what we’ve got and add just a couple more we’ll be a team alright at home and in the CL. If we can achieve and keep all that BR move move up to that elite status. Hail Hail
Unfortunately Engels, has at times, been a victim of the fee we paid for him, and has been unjustifiably criticised by plenty in our fanbase.
I tend to agree that we have a really good player in our midst, who will only keep improving, and at the same time, silence his doubters.
I always maintain that everyone is entitled to an opinion, but it doesn’t mean they should be agreed with. Plenty of these opinions should be consigned to the compost heap, and some of the nonsense I hear at games, is beyond even that.
I am sure this lad will build on his pedigree and prove many of his doubters wrong.
Although AE gets his fair share, most of the criticism is reserved for Taylor, which again, in my opinion, is over the top.
It presently appears as if he’ll be moving on in the summer, but I would still like to see him re-signed as cover for KT.
Again, I appreciate I’m in the minority with that one! HH