Belgium national team boss Domenico Tedesco makes Celtic claim

Celtic made a bold move this summer when they shelled out a club-record transfer fee to bring in Arne Engels from FC Augsburg. Since then, the Belgian midfielder has had an interesting time in Glasgow. He has put in some steady performances but at the same time, he has doubters as well, who believe that Luke McCowan or Paulo Bernardo should be starting ahead of him.

Engels has answered his critics with his latest two performances though. He provided a couple of assists against Aberdeen in the Scottish League Cup final and then assisted again in the 3-1 win against RB Leipzig in the Champions League.

Overall, his numbers are solid for a midfielder. According to stats from Transfermarkt, he has scored 3 goals and provided 6 assists in 13 appearances for Celtic so far.

Engels has made a couple of appearances for the Belgian national team as well. And their manager, Domenico Tedesco, recently referred to his Celtic stint.

Belgium national team boss Domenico Tedesco makes Celtic claim

As reported by Glasgow World, Tedesco said while speaking to Het Nieuwsblad:

"You cannot possibly paint everyone with the same brush, because everyone has their own character and plays in a specific club in a specific country. I’m not going to keep giving endless opportunities. And the young people are indeed being pushed. Then it’s a matter of whether they pick it up or not.

“You therefore do not always immediately see this in the direct results. There is also the way: we played very well at home against France, and it was also good for an hour in Italy.

“Every football player is different. Many players here have made great strides forward and experience comes naturally. Arne Engels, for example, plays for the title at Celtic. But they certainly have to push. Otherwise, they would not have gotten here."

Of course, Engels is expected to develop a lot over his time at Celtic. It is important to remember that he is still 21 years old. Just look at the leap in output that Matt O'Riley made last season. He was not as consistent in his first 18 months with the Hoops.

So, there will be some occasions when Engels struggles. That is only natural. And Celtic have enough quality depth in midfield to deal with such situations.

The important thing is that Engels continues developing and improving as a player. Do not get us wrong, he is already quite good. He has proven himself as a creator already and is also a reliable penalty-taker, something that Celtic have missed for years. But there is room for him to improve his game.