Celtic welcome 'new signing' for final seven games and 22y/o's head in right place despite challenges

Engels has not played for Celtic since February 11 when he picked up a thigh injury 32 minutes into a 2-1 win over Livingston. He has missed the past nine matches as a result - which includes damaging league defeats by Hibs and most recently Dundee United that left them in third place, five points behind leaders Hearts.

The 22-year-old is Celtic’s record signing for a fee in the region of £11 million and had started to show some of his best form for the club under manager Martin O’Neill. His stock remains high across the continent, with Nottingham Forest making three late deadline-day bids for the Belgium internationalist, the last of which totalled £25m including add-ons and clauses.

The Celtic board held firm, partly because they did not have time to source a replacement but also because they know how valuable he can be to the team. With the international break forcing a two-week pause to the Premiership campaign, Engels is expected to be fit for Celtic’s next match: a trip to Dundee on Easter Sunday.

It has been a challenging spell for Engels given the transfer speculation and then injury, but O’Neill has been impressed with the way the former Augsburg midfielder has dealt with it all.

“He never made an issue,” O’Neill said of the rejected Forest bids for Engels. “It was what it was. The last offer we got, I didn't realise until [chief executive] Michael Nicholson told me, was three hours before the deadline.

“A lot of players would be chomping at the bit saying ‘I want to go’ because he was going to be earning more money, he was going to be doing a lot of things like that.

“He's not complained at all. It's interesting sometimes, it's only when somebody's not playing do you actually miss them. I think that would be the case with Arne. But he's keen to get back and I think after the international break, he should be ready.”

Engels was particularly potent for O’Neill during his first interim spell between late October and early December. “He's a strong runner,” noted O’Neill. “He had scored a goal against Hibs when he dived in and headed it. If he wants to be something, he'll add a few more goals during the course of a season. A goal-scoring midfield player is worth their weight in gold.

Engels is not the only player nearing a return. Right-back Alistair Johnston has been sidelined for most of the campaign with hamstring issues but could also return for the Dens Park date on April 5. Striker Tomas Cvancara missed the trip to Tannadice due to illness. Captain Callum McGregor and striker Kelechi Iheanacho are also back fit.

“That's true,” said O’Neill of having ‘new signings’ for the final seven games of the league season and the Scottish Cup. “So now suddenly we are, for the most part, getting players back. The captain's back and now there's a wee bit of competition for places. It's interesting, the time we needed all the players, we didn't have it at the time. This is the way it goes.”

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