Chris Sutton admits he has ‘never understood’ why some have been ‘questioning’ Celtic star

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Celtic had to make some big calls during the 2024 summer transfer window.

Brendan Rodgers lost Matt O’Riley to Brighton and it was a transfer that was expected, with fans then looking forward to how the club would splash the cash and improve the squad.

Celtic put their money where their mouth is by enhancing the team, including spending a club-record transfer on midfielder, Arne Engels.

The 21-year-old joined from German outfit FC Augsburg and has been in and out of Rodgers’ starting XI since moving to Glasgow.

On Saturday, Celtic beat Ross County 4-1 – with Engels starting – and the Belgium star got his name on the scoresheet by scoring his re-taken penalty in stoppage-time.

And Chris Sutton, as well as Kris Boyd, had some interesting comments to make about the midfielder.

Chris Sutton baffled by those ‘questioning’ Celtic star Arne Engels

Celtic’s squad is strong and you could argue that the most difficult place to break into is the middle of the park.

You have Callum McGregor and Reo Hatate, who are the regular starters, and then it’s the likes of Engels, Luke McCowan and Paulo Bernardo fighting for a place.

Sutton used Nicolas Kuhn as an example when talking about Engels and how there are certain clouds above his head, but there should be patience with him.

Not only was he backed by Sutton, but even Kris Boyd spoke highly about the summer signing and what he has brought to the table, as he told Sky Sports Football (11/01/25 at 12:20 pm).

Boyd stated: “You look at Celtic and they could play two upfront. The ball retention they have in the middle of the pitch. They can control it. If they have to work as a partnership. One will go short and the other will go long. When you look at the performances Engels has been putting in recently. He has been impressive. I know he had that time when he was out of the team and Bernardo had come in. But you have got to say, in recent weeks, he has got himself back in there and back amongst the goals as well. It’s just his energy, Chris.”

Sutton then added: “I never understood the questioning of Engels. I think it’s all to do with the price-tag, more than anything.

“We saw Nicolas Kuhn when he came in last season take his time to get up to speed and Engels is doing that.”

Engels’ stats for Celtic this season

Celtic are dominating proceedings in Scotland, with the champions 15 points clear at the top of the table and heading towards another title.

In that sense, Rodgers can chop and change his midfield as much as he likes because it’s a case of when the title will be won rather than if.

But, Celtic have some huge Champions League games on the horizon and it’s going to be interesting to see what road the manager goes down, in regards to who he starts in the middle of the park for the ties against Young Boys and Aston Villa.

As of this moment, Engels would probably argue that he should start alongside Hatate and McGregor.