With interest in Matt O’Riley hotting up, should the Celtic midfielder leave the club then Brendan Rodgers will have a job on his hands to find a suitable replacement.
Brighton seems to be leading the way for O’Riley and whilst the club does seem to be looking for £30m for the Denmark international, if Celtic gets that kind of figure, a large portion of it must be sunk into finding a replacement for the midfield maestro.
One player who has been touted as a possible replacement for O’Riley is Belgian midfielder, Arne Engels. The 20-year-old currently plays for Augsburg in the German Bundesliga.
And after being linked to Engels last week, German football expert, Derek Rae has said Celtic would be the perfect fit for the youngster.
‘All round’ Engels move ‘makes sense’ for Celtic
Rae has been covering German football for a number of years and explains how it would make sense for the Belgian to sign for Celtic this summer.
Rae said in The Celtic Way, “With Engels, Celtic would be getting a good all-round player and a player that also takes corners for his current club, as he can deliver a good ball into the box.
“Anybody who is a defensive midfielder who is taking corners tells you that there are aspects to his game that are more than what just your run-of-the-mill central defensive midfield players would typically offer.
“He is not a player who is being talked about by the big clubs in Germany, and he is not a player who is getting linked with the teams in the top five or six in the Bundesliga presently. Perhaps that can change in the years ahead.
“It makes a bit of sense that Engels is attracting a team like Celtic who are the champions and have the lure of the Champions League football for a player.
“Perhaps it would be a better fit at Celtic rather than the higher Bundesliga teams, as he would not get many games for the high-end German clubs at this moment in time.”
Celtic want £10m Engels
Capped at U21 level for Belgium, Engels does seem to have a bright future ahead of him in the game. Still to make his full international debut, the youngster was invited to train with the full international squad ahead of Euro 2024.
With 52 appearances in the German top flight, the versatile Engels has been deployed in a number of positions which include defensive midfield, the number 10 role and on both flanks in the middle of the park.
Celtic are said to be interested in a £10m deal to bring Engels to Paradise should O’Riley move on and Rodgers tries to identify a player of similar quality to bolster his squad.
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