Arne Engels arrived at Celtic this summer as the club’s most expensive signing in their history.
Adam Idah had that honour for a short period after Celtic paid Norwich City £8.5m (rising to £9.5m) after a summer of speculation surrounding the Irishman’s return to Glasgow.
However, Brendan Rodgers opened up the Celtic chequebook again and landed Arne Engels for £11.5m to bolster the Hoops midfield after Matt O’Riley’s departure to Brighton.
Engels immediately impressed the Celtic fans after his performance in the Bhoys’ 5-1 win over Slovan Bratislava but Stiliyan Petrov has moved to play down his early season form and has urged caution over the hype surrounding the Belgian international.
Petrov tells Celtic fans Arne Engels ‘will not sparkle’ all the time
Petrov had an immense amount of success at Celtic and knows what it’s like to succeed and struggle at the Scottish champions.
The Bulgarian had a tough time settling in at Celtic when he first arrived and has explained why the hype over Engels needs to be dampened.
Petrov told The Sunday Post print edition page 7, “By the looks of it, the new signings have settled in really well. Arne Engels and Luke McCowan have both hit the ground running.
“Arne is still a young man and finding his way in the game.
He has arrived with a big price tag and a very good reputation. I’m certain, over the course of time, he will go all the way to achieve some memorable things with Celtic.
“But, remember, he is young. He will not sparkle in every single game. There will be little bumps here and there.
“That’s what happens. But he is quality through and through, I can all already see that.”
Petrov’s words of caution over Arne Engels must be heeded by Celtic fans
Engels was given a baptism of fire after Brendan Rodgers pitched the youngster in for his Celtic debut against Rangers and he performed well in his cameo in the 3-0 win.
The young Belgian followed that up with another good performance and scoring a penalty in Celtic’s win over Hearts.
However, the Belgian midfielder struggled against Borussia Dortmund and found life tough in Celtic’s win over Ross County.
Engels was most likely playing on adrenalin in his first few games for Celtic and now that that has calmed down, he must now be allowed to find his place in the team.
At just 20, the former Augsburg man is still young and developing and won’t perform in every game. Which is why Celtic fans must show patience with him.
If too much on him right now, the young man could find life at Celtic hard. But if he is allowed to find his feet with as little pressure on his shoulders as possible, Engels looks like he could be an outstanding player for Celtic and Rodgers will have pulled off a transfer masterstroke.
