Celtic have hit gold with record-breaker who’s similar to £149m-rated star

Celtic enjoyed a strong showing domestically in Brendan Rodgers’ first season back at the club last term, as they won the Scottish Premiership and the SFA Cup.

However, the Hoops also finished bottom of their Champions League group and only won one of their six matches, before the revamped league phase came into play this term.

When the summer transfer rolled around, the Scottish giants lost midfielder Matt O’Riley to Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion on a permanent deal.

However, Rodgers was then backed by the board as they made a host of signings to bolster the squad, in an attempt to improve their success in Europe.

Celtic’s summer signings

The Hoops swooped to sign central defender Auston Trusty from Sheffield United for a fee of £6m and Football FanCast recently posted an article explaining why they hit the jackpot with him, as his performances in the Champions League have earned him a comparison to Arsenal star William Saliba.

Celtic also agreed a fee of up to £9.5m for Adam Idah and reportedly paid £3.5m to sign Paulo Bernardo, after their loan spells from Norwich and Benfica respectively during the 2023/24 campaign.

Veteran goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel was brought in on a free transfer and has kept an eye-catching 11 clean sheets in 14 appearances in the league.

The biggest signing of the window, however, was Arne Engels, who joined in a club-record £11m transfer from German side Augsburg to bolster Rodgers’ options in midfield.

Celtic have hit the jackpot with Arne Engels

Celtic appear to have hit the jackpot with the Belgian starlet because he has had the desired impact in the Champions League for the Hoops.

As per FBref, Real Madrid superstar Jude Bellingham has been one of the most similar players to Engels in Europe’s premier competition this season, which speaks to how impressive the Bhoys youngster has been.

As you can see in the chart above, both players are central midfielders who look to make a big impact at the top end of the pitch by generating high non-penalty xG and xAG tallies.

Bellingham, who has scored 26 goals in 59 games for Real Madrid, is valued at a whopping €180m (£149m) by Transfermarkt, which illustrates just how impressive Engels has been in Europe to earn a comparison with the England international.

As you can see in the table above, the Belgian record-breaker, who is the most expensive signing in the club’s history, has been directly involved in four goals in five matches in the Champions League.

Engels, who has also scored two goals and created three ‘big chances’ in 11 matches in the Premiership, has helped the Hoops to win two and draw two of their first five games in Europe.

This means, albeit in a different format, the Belgium international has played a significant role in Celtic’s much-improved record in Europe this term compared to last.

At the age of 21, Engels also has plenty of time left to develop and improve further and, as of right now, Celtic appear to have hit gold with the Bellingham-esque star.