Chris Sutton believes Arne Engels just needs time before he will show his full potential at Celtic.
Brendan Rodgers shelled out a record breaking fee to bring the full Belgium international to Parkhead during his summer spending spree that included paying out big money to land Adam Idah permanently and bring Auston Trusty on board. In 17 appearances across all competitions including the Champions League and domestically, the midfielder has scored three goals and provided six assists to date during his debut campaign in Scotland.
The 21-year-old is still finding his feet in Glasgow with the Hoops hero believing that supporters are probably expecting even more from him due to his transfer price tag. Speaking on the Daily Mail’s ‘It’s all Kicking Off‘ podcast, the Celtic legend responded to a fan question asking what the best midfield three at Celtic is this season. He said: “Oh good question. I know where he is going with that one.
“Callum McGregor, Reo Hatate and Arne Engels. I think there are Celtic fans because Engels was their record signing, they would probably have expected more from him this season and there are Celtic fans out there saying they should play [Paulo] Bernardo in the middle of the park with Hatate and McGregor but I think Engels like any new player needs time.”
Engels played just shy of 70 minutes of the weekend win over Hearts at Tynecastle before being replaced by Paulo Bernardo. He has been a main pick under Rodgers who will be aiming to mastermind a third Champions League home success this midweek.
Club Brugge make the trip to Glasgow’s east end and arrive in a confident mood after defeating EPL outfit Aston Villa – who the Hoops face on the final matchday – in their last outing at Europe’s top table.
Victory for Rodgers and Co would move them onto 10 points and put them in a very strong position to reach the knockout stage. They currently sit on 7 from four games ahead of matchday five later this week.