Celtic star Mika Baur has secured a shock international call up with Germany at senior level. The midfielder joined the Bhoys on a bargain deal from Paderborn in the summer, and he has largely enjoyed a positive time so far.
There have been a couple of black marks, early on when he was being asked to play in a defensive role that he cannot play, and the Old Firm on Sunday, when he struggled to get into the game and was dominated physically.
But there have been far more positives. Baur always wants to get on the ball and can look after it well, allowing Celtic to play a little more expansively than they would in his absence, especially without Arne Engels.
Celtic still haven't replaced Engels, which remains a problem, especially in games like the Old Firm last Sunday, where they needed a presence or a player to hold on to the ball.
But Baur offers Celtic something different with his busy approach in midfield, and the overall feeling is that the £4.3million or so that brought him to the club was money well spent.
What Baur won't have expected is for his move to Celtic to yield a senior Germany call-up, especially having swapped a chance to play in Bundesliga week in, week out, to play in Scotland.
Germany have actually got two squads for the upcoming break, due to the fact it is an extended break with four fixtures. But Baur has been named among the stronger of the two squads, for the second two fixtures, and Jurgen Klopp has explained the decision.
Klopp said: "I consider him really exciting. He’s absolutely up for it. We also spoke on the phone about the weather in Glasgow - something I know well from Liverpool. With this move, he’s taken on a very challenging step.“
That's quite the reward for the 22-year-old, who is still young and with plenty of development ahead of him.
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