Arne Engels on his six weeks wait before joining Celtic

In partnership with

The Celtic Star

·10 September 2024

Arne Engels on his six weeks wait before joining Celtic

Celtic’s record signing Arne Engels spoke to the Celtic fan media at Celtic Park this afternoon, Tuesday 10 September 2024…

“It was six weeks before the window closed that Celtic contacted my agent,” Arne Engels

After sealing his £11m move to Celtic from Bundesliga club FC Augsburg, Engels made his debut for Celtic coming off the bench in the 3-0 Scottish Premiership win over theRangers, before making his full international debut for Belgium in their win over Israel.

Belgium v Israel – Tielemans Youri is replaced by Arne Engels during the UEFA Nations League match in group B between Belgium and Israel on September 6, 2024 in Debrecen, Hungary. Photo Jan De Meuleneir

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Here’s everything that new signing Arnie Engels had to say to the Celtic fan media today…

First impressions on Celtic…

Arne Engels: “It’s a really big club. To experience the game against (the)Rangers was amazing for me. To see that and to have two days with the team in the dressing room was really amazing. We went to the team hotel, as a group of players, chatting around and joking with each other, so it was really nice.”

On when he first heard of Celtic’s interest and his initial reactions…

Arne Engels: ”That it’s a really big club and also a step for me that I wanted to make, so I was clear in my head that I wanted to make the step to Celtic.

Celtic v theRangers – Arne Engels during the match at Celtic Park on Sunday September 1, 2024. Photo Steve Welsh

On when Celtic interest became known…

Arne Engels: “It was six weeks before the window closed that Celtic contacted my agent. They spoke to each other but you need to wait and see where everything is going and how serious everything was and it was. I was really happy that it came true.

On arriving at Celtic Park on deadline day with all the lights on…

Arne Engels: “Yes it was actually in the night so the lamps were all out. It was impressive to see it. I didn’t expect it to be that big actually. I knew it holds over 60,000 people and it would be big but I was actually impressed. And my family was also impressed so that was a nice feeling.”

On the training regime at Celtic compared to FC Augsburg…

Arne Engels: “Yes it is quite similar. I think most football clubs are the same, training loads but here the facilities are much better so it’s helping me to develop as a player so I think that it will be really great.”

Celtic v theRangers – Arne Engels during the match at Celtic Park on Sunday September 1, 2024. Photo Steve Welsh

On the welcome he received from his new Celtic teammates…

Arne Engels: “Yes everyone was talking to me, I felt really welcome so that is a bonus point. You see directly that it’s a really good group to work with, and that everybody wants to fight for each other also. They also want to make every new guy feel like it’s their home so it was good. It was quite nice.”

On his Philippe Clement conversation at Celtic Park prior to the Glasgow Derby…

Arne Engels: “Yeah he said it was a good step for me. We spoke a bit about the last years when we were together at Brugge. Nothing special actually. He wished me good luck and that’s it.”

On his best midfield position (6, 8 or 10)…

Arne Engels: “Im a really energetic guy who really wants to run forward and to really attack but that can also defend, so a bit of a box-to-box midfielder. So that’s what to expect and the rest you’ll see on the pitch.”

On being drawn against Club Brugge and two clubs from Germany…

Arne Engels: “Yes of course, I was watching the draw in a taxi when I was coming to Celtic and I was really happy to see that it was against my old team. But all the teams that we are playing against, it’s really nice so I’m excited. I’m also excited to see all the Belgian guys also in every team except Young Boys, the others have at least one Belgian guy, so it will be nice to everybody.”

On influencing the games against the German teams, Dortmund and RB Leipzig…

Arne Engels: “I don’t know. I am here to perform and to help the team and that is the most important thing. It is maybe a bonus point that you know them, that you’ve maybe played a few times against them and that you know some players there but it’s still a game that needs to be played. So I am really looking forward to it and let’s see.”

On getting off to a good start in UCL with a win over Slovan Bratislava…

Arne Engels: “Yes it is always nice to start with a win and with a good performance and it’s important to directly show what we are capable of. Also it’s nice that it is here in Celtic Park where we can show everybody with the fans that we can do something special there. So everybody is looking forward to it and is ready so let’s see.”

Kevin De Bruyne of Belgium crosses the ball past Josip Juranovic of Croatia during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 Group F match between Croatia and Belgium at Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium on December 01, 2022 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Lars Baron/Getty Images)

On getting praise from other players such as Kevin de Bruyne…

Arne Engels: “Yes, it is always nice to hear some words like this and also to hear what everyone is saying. So it’s nice and it is a confidence boost for me to see everyone talking positively about me. So now it is up to me to show it and that I a develop even more.

On how he feels about being more in the public eye at Celtic…

Arne Engels: “I don’t know we’ll see about it. This is also the first time for me. I’m a relaxed guy so I’ll take it how it is. We’ll see how it is and it is nice to see fans everywhere and supporting on and off the pitch. They are supporting me here (at Celtic Park) and I will support them outside the pitch.”

On his 21st birthday celebrations at the weekend…

Arne Engels: “I was with family and friends, so it was really nice to be home and to celebrate it. It was really nice.

On having three home games in a row against Hearts, Bratislava and Falkirk…

Arne Engels: “I will try to do my best of course. I will try to help the team win and that’s why I am here, so we’ll see how it works.

Here is Arne Engels speaking to the Celtic Fan Media this afternoon…

Meanwhile here’s the Luke McCowan fan media media conference from yesterday with the new signing giving The Celtic Star an insight into what actually happened on deadline day and when he eventually found out that he was heading to Celtic…

COMING SOON ON CELTIC STAR BOOKS…CELTIC IN THE THIRTIES, VOL 1&2 BY MATT CORR…

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