Engels Move Makes Sense as Baur and Hassan Arrive
- By LIAM McBRIDE
- 12 minutes ago
- 6 min read
Celtic return to Premier Sports Cup action this weekend, eight months after a chastening 3-1 defeat to St Mirren under the guidance of Wilfried Nancy.
The travel to Tannadice, a ground where the Champions lost twice last season, conceding four goals in the process. However, despite the rather doom-and-gloom tone to begin, the Hoops have every reason to be optimistic that they can get one step closer to winning back the cup which has so often defined a positive start to the season in years gone by.
Between 2016 and 2022, Celtic enjoyed a League Cup dynasty, winning six honours out of a possible seven. Two finals against Rangers and Aberdeen, plus single battles against Motherwell and Hibernian, saw 12 goals scored, six different scorers, and just two conceded. Since then, a 2024 penalty-shootout victory over Rangers has been sandwiched by shock defeats to Kilmarnock and St Mirren. So how will Martin O’Neill’s men fare?
Engels Departs but Celtic March On
The Northern Irishman has overseen an impeccable return to domestic cup football, with six wins from six and 16 goals scored in the process. On Saturday, his side will travel to the city of discovery to face a low-on-confidence Dundee United side. Having dropped out of the top six last season, the Tangerines will be looking to surge back up the table and be in the fight for the European qualifier places.
The 2025/26 campaign was a story of inconsistency for Jim Goodwin’s men. While they earned a reputation as giant killers - beating Celtic twice at home, and drawing two of three games against Rangers- their results against the lower placed teams stunted any momentum building. For every win against Celtic there were home defeats to Kilmarnock, Falkirk and Dundee. Throughout the whole season, they failed to string back-to-back wins together at any point.
So, naturally, a Summer of great change has followed. 12 players have arrived, nine have left. Moreover, Goodwin has deviated from his preferred three-at-the-back set-up to a more typical 4-3-3 formation. They topped their Premier Sports Cup group, despite a shocking 1-0 loss against Montrose. Three clean-sheet victories against Stirling, Arbroath and The Spartans were enough to set up a clash with Celtic.
By the time the Scottish Premiership season came around, a really tough set of fixtures awaited: Rangers at home, Hearts away and Celtic at home (in the cup). A baptism of fire for this new group of players; how would they respond? A 1-1 draw against Rangers was an impressive start. While they could have easily won the game, avoiding defeat against a potential title challenger is not to be scoffed at. Yet, with the benefit of hindsight, with Derek McInnes struggling badly and still without a competitive victory, it may now feel like a missed opportunity.
Nevertheless, the following week they rocked up to Tynecastle, looking to mark a statement victory. Instead, they were handily beaten, losing 4-0 in a demoralising afternoon. Just how much of that is adapting to a new style of play and how much is down to poor recruitment will only become clear with time. Either way, it feels like a visit from the Premiership Champions could not come at a worse time.
With Martin O’Neill in hospital undergoing minor surgery, Shaun Maloney took his place in the managerial chair for a trip to Rugby Park. And it’s fair to say O’Neill would have been happily watching on as the Bhoys put in their most convincing performance since the 2024/25 campaign.
A 5-1 victory, a Kasper Høgh hat-trick and another goalscoring contribution from Benjamin Nygren, it was a full-marks display from the league leaders. Moreover, the speed and directness in attack will hopefully be a sign of things to come for this new-look Celtic side.
The speed in transition that Camilo Duran brings, plus the powerful running and intelligent movement of Høgh, will cause headaches for backlines up and down the country.
Moreover, this effect should only be amplified with the arrival of Haissem Haasan from Real Oviedo on a four-year contract.
He is one of two arrivals, in what has been a busy week of transfer news in the east end of Glasgow. Signed for around £6 million with the potential to reach nearer £9 million, the Egyptian will bring a dynamism and speed that has been missing on the right side since the sale of Nicolas Kuhn to Como last summer.
On the Celticplayer he said:
“I’m really grateful to be here and really happy. Celtic is a massive club. When I was growing up, the club was always in the Champions League and had big players. I’m really looking forward to getting on the pitch with the guys. At 24, I think it’s a good moment for me to move away from Spain. I’ve been there for six years. With Celtic’s history, all the great players, the fans and the atmosphere, I think this is the perfect moment for me.”
The 24-year-old lit up the World Cup with his display against Argentina in the round of 16, off the back of a relegation campaign last season with Oviedo. During that season, he failed to register a single goal and made just 3 assists; however, even within that, his ability to take a player on and carry the ball up the park caught the eye of MON.
He added: “I know he is excited about being with us and I am sure our fans will enjoy the energy and attacking intent which Haissem will bring to matches. I hope he will become a very important member of our squad going forward.”
While critics may point to a lack of end product as a worry, there are two things to remember. Firstly, not every player needs to be a goal scorer. Celtic currently have proven contributors in Høgh, Duran and Nygren.
Plus, the Egyptian will, by definition, be involved in more chances than he was last season with a team at the bottom of La Liga. And of course, there is the obvious point that if he was one of the best dribblers in La Liga and had a reliable goalscoring record to pair it, then he would be likely heading to one of the truly elite Champions League teams.
Just a day later, the club announced that Mika Baur was to sign for a fee of around £6 million from FC Paderborn. The 22-year-old was a highly rated prospect in German football and has travelled North to join at Lennoxtown. Naturally, we have seen less exposure than Haasan due to Baur not being at the World Cup; however, the highlight videos do give an indication of the type of profile the German will be.
He stands at just 5’8 tall, which makes you believe that he isn’t the replacement for Arne Engels but more likely for Reo Hatate, with the Japanese looking more likely to exit the longer he remains uninvolved. His overall game style seems more transitional than Hatate, with a really strong passing range, similar to that of Engels. However, he seems a more comfortable player in tight spaces than the Belgian, who could often look flustered under pressure.
Speaking of which, journalist Florian Plettenberg announced today that Engels will sign for West Ham for a fee of £22 million. Overall, it’s a really smart piece of business from Celtic. Signed for around £11 million, he has had a mixed stint in Glasgow but ultimately showed his worth in the run-in last season. Moreover, having spent a hefty fee to bring him in, they have been able to recuperate a much larger price tag and spread it across other areas. It’s how a player-trading model should work and what Celtic fans have been calling out for.
According to Anthony Joseph, Torino’s Gvidas Gineitis and Hajduk Split’s Niko Sigur are the two main drafts for replacement. Either way, time is running out if they are to be signed before the Champions League play-off tie with Lask.
Anyhow, amidst all the transfer chat, there is a game to focus on. So, how will Celtic line up?
With Alistair Johnston injured, you would expect Colby Donovan to fill in. Personally, I would be trialling Alex-Oxlade Chamberlain there, as it’s a position he did fill in at for Liverpool under Jurgen Klopp; however, it’s unlikely. With Kieran Tierney out wide, the focus goes to the centre-back partnership.
MON is a massive admirer of Liam Scales, however, the Auston Trusty and Cameron Carter-Vickers partnership has worked so well it would seem pointless to separate them. Similar to the Carter-Vickers and Starfelt combination, their combined attributes of pace and physicality complement each other so well.
In midfield, Callum McGregor and Nygren are stick-on’s, so expect them to make it three starts from three. With Engels set to head down to London, a space is left in the midfield. With the Champions League play-offs in a matter of days, it makes sense to start Baur straight away and get him ready for the tie.
Up front, expect the same front three as last week, with a second-half cameo for Hassan. The 24-year-old hasn’t played a single game since the World Cup a month ago, so an inclusion from the start would be too soon.
So, as for the game, I expect a comfortable Celtic win. With a feel-good factor returning and a team growing in confidence, it’s hard to see how a shaky in defence Dundee United cause problems, even if they managed to do so last season.