Derek Rae names the Celtic player who has ‘the ability to go further’ after first-hand experience

Add as preferred source on Google

Legendary Scottish football commentator Derek Rae believes that one Celtic player has all the ability in the world.

Celtic have a stacked squad full of talent all over the pitch, with Brendan Rodgers facing a headache every week due to the amount of quality on show.

With seven new signings joining Celtic this summer, the competition is hotting up even more, however, Rae admitted there is one that caught his eye.

• READ MORE: What Celtic did with Cameron Carter-Vickers in 2021 transfer window proves fans don’t need to panic

Derek Rae predicts a bright future for Arne Engels

Arne Engels divided opinion in his first season as a Celtic player.

The Belgium international is Celtic’s record signing and scored 10 goals in his debut campaign.

Some have questioned his impact but Rae, who is a German football expert, believes that he can go all the way to the top after first seeing Engels play for Augsburg.

Speaking on the Off the Underside podcast, he said: “I am a believer that Arne Engels will go to the next level.

“I saw the strides he made when he joined Augsburg. Now, actually, I was in the stadium in Augsburg commentating—sorry, in Dortmund—commentating against Augsburg when he made his debut. And it was a surprise. He had just joined. It wasn’t a high-profile transfer. He had just joined and he was named on the starting XI. It was a very dramatic 4–3 game in Dortmund’s favour. But Engels immediately looked really good.

“What I liked about him in Augsburg was that you could see that it was a versatile player there. I think that he went from being a €1.5m player to being worth 10 times that in a very short period of time, eventually joining Celtic.

“So I do think that there’s a player there, still young, who has the ability to go even further. And I think he’s in good hands with Brendan Rodgers as his manager.”

Arne Engels will benefit from a full season with Celtic

Last season Engels had no option but to hit the ground running after signing on transfer deadline day in August 2024.

This time though, after missing the June international fixtures, the 21-year-old was one of the first to report back for pre-season training.

With a year under his belt now and a full pre-season of working on the style and technique, the expectation is that we will see the best of the midfielder all year round.