‘I must say’ – Steven Naismith makes his feelings on Celtic star Arne Engels abundantly clear

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There’s been some discussion about Arne Engels recently.

Engels signed with Celtic last summer for £11m and thus became the club’s record transfer. With that, big expectations rested upon his shoulders.

There’s no doubt Engels enjoyed a decent debut campaign, but Celtic fans do feel he hasn’t yet justified his price tag.

Now, it seems like Benjamin Nygren has usurped Engels in the Celtic starting XI having really impressed in pre-season and playing against St Mirren last weekend.

Brendan Rodgers explained Engels was benched because Nygren was better suited to play against the style imposed by the Buddies.

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Celtic midfielder Arne Engels finds ally in Naismith

Celtic have been criticised for splurging £11m on a player who now looks set to feature more on the bench than in the starting XI this season.

But former Rangers forward and ex-Hearts manager Steven Naismith believes the future remains bright for Engels and there’s plenty of time for him to make his mark with the Bhoys.

After all, he is only 21 and Naismith thinks the Belgian should be judged longer term.

Naismith told Clyde 1 Superscoreboard: “I must say, Engels is a 20-year-old guy who has brilliant potential. And I know he came in for a lot of money, but I think he’s been signed for the longer term.

“I thought his better performances for Celtic were in Europe, which shows you at that level he was comfortable.

“I think as the years go on, he will play a bigger part. Yes, he’s not started yet this season, but I think he will be a big player in the coming years.”

Engels told he will ‘lose place’ to Benjamin Nygren

Former Rangers and Scotland midfielder Ross McCormack explained at the end of July that all the signs were pointing towards Nygren starting ahead of Engels.

He said: “Brendan Rodgers is going to pick the team that he thinks can successfully go and win him the title again.

“And if that’s Benjamin Nygren, who all the signs point to in pre-season, who anytime I’ve seen him, he’s looked absolutely different class, then Engels will, unfortunately for him, be sat on the bench.”

Engels played 53 games for Celtic last season and scored 10 goals, most of which were from the penalty spot. He is yet to start a game competitively this season.