Brendan Rodgers has delivered a message to Arne Engels’ doubters as Celtic look to seize the initiative at home to Ross County tomorrow afternoon.
The Belgium international started against his former youth side Club Brugge in midweek as the Bhoys claimed a draw on matchday five of their Champions League campaign.
Speaking earlier this week, Chris Sutton indicated Arne Engels needs time at Celtic to develop. On Wednesday’s evidence, the Dendermonde-born man didn’t have his best evening, but he wasn’t the only one against a seasoned European outfit who made life difficult for the hosts.
Despite receiving some unwarranted criticism from some quarters, the man in question has delivered three goals and six assists in 16 appearances, which is an impressive tally at this stage.
Pressure was always going to be on the shoulders of £11 million Celtic signing Engels. However, Brendan Rodgers has sent a message to his detractors that will be heard loud and clear.
Brendan Rodgers launches resolute Arne Engels Celtic defence
Speaking in his pre-match press conference as Celtic prepare to take on Ross County, Rodgers told doubters to ‘learn their lesson’ when evaluating Engels, citing Paulo Bernardo and Nicolas Kuhn’s examples as reason to trust the development process.
He explained: “The most recent example of that would be Paulo Bernardo; he was exactly the same if I remember back. Highlighting Paulo and his performances this time last year and now, he can’t be cheered on loud enough when he enters the pitch; that’s called development.
“It’s called patience, it’s called time. Arne is a fantastic young player, otherwise we wouldn’t have brought him here. He doesn’t set the price, he’s come here to a big club to improve his game and I’ve got absolutely no doubt he’ll do that.
“It won’t be the case, but I would hope that people will learn their lesson, the same people that were writing of Paulo and Nicolas Kuhn. It’ll be Arne Engels, or it’ll be someone else. You have to look and see that development takes time.
“Some will hit the ground running and be fine and adapt perfect, but not everyone is like that, especially a young player. I’ve been really pleased since he’s come in because I know the future for him; he will improve, he will develop, he will get better; we’ve seen it so many times.”
Arne Engels will develop into a star for Celtic
Make no mistake; there is a reason why Engels has predominantly been a starter for Celtic this season beyond his hefty price tag.
Ultimately, he is a living representation of how the Bhoys have raised the bar on recruitment, investing capital into potential that will, in turn, eventually yield an even greater sum in the transfer market.
Allowing players to develop appropriately fits within this model. On league duty, stat-trackers Fotmob show Engels has created 12 chances and won 80% of his tackles since arriving from Augsburg, so he certainly hasn’t had a bad start.
Rodgers’ record with stars brimming with potential speaks for itself. Give the Belgium international time is the message from the manager.
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