How £5m Celtic target is like a hybrid of Rogic and Wanyama

Celtic are in danger of losing another one of their star players within a couple of weeks of Daizen Maeda completing a £10m move to the Premier League.

The Japan international secured a switch to Ipswich Town, after their promotion from the Championship, and Arne Engels might be about to join him in England.

West Ham United are pursuing a deal to sign the Belgium international and have already agreed personal terms with the 22-year-old talent ahead of a possible move to the London Stadium.

The Hoops are looking for a fee in the region of £25m for the midfield star, though, and it is now down to the Championship side to meet their demands.

The profile of midfielder Celtic need to sign

Recruiting for Celtic is not as easy as it may seem from the outside looking in because they have to factor in both the domestic and European requirements.

The Hoops need players who are outstanding technically and can deliver goals and assists to win matches from midfield in the Scottish Premiership, as they dominate games and expect to win the title.

In Europe, however, the Scottish giants need more physicality and guile because they are not among the favourites in any of the competitions that they play, as evidenced by the fact that they have failed to make it past the play-off round in each of the last ten seasons.

Celtic, therefore, need to find a midfielder who can offer the technical and attacking qualities that they need domestically in the Premiership, whilst also being a combative player who can help the team off the ball in Europe.

Engels potentially being on his way out of Parkhead, if West Ham pay the money required, could provide Martin O’Neill with an opportunity to bring in a complete midfielder to bolster his ranks.

Celtic preparing bid to sign Rogic and Wanyama hybrid

Back when the Hoops last made it to the last 16 of a European competition, Neil Lennon had the likes of Tom Rogic and Victor Wanyama in his side in the 2012/13 campaign, with the former offering technical class and the latter offering physicality in midfield.

Now, the club are looking to bring in a player who could be like a hybrid of both of those players with the qualities that he could bring to the team at Parkhead.

CeltsAreHere reports that Celtic are readying a new offer to sign Paderborn central midfielder Mika Baur before the end of the summer transfer window.

The outlet claims that the Hoops are preparing to submit a bid worth up to £5m for the Germany international, after seeing a £4m offer turned down earlier this summer.

It adds that the player has his heart set on a move to Glasgow and that he is hopeful that a deal can be agreed between the two clubs before the end of the window.

Rogic produced 46 goals and 51 assists in 272 matches for the Hoops during his time at Parkhead, which is an average of 0.36 goal contributions per game.

Baur produced 0.27 goal contributions per match in the 2. Bundesliga for Paderborn in the 2025/26 campaign, as he offered a threat as both a scorer and as a creator of goals from midfield.

He showed a Rogic-like ability to offer a dual threat at the top end of the pitch by scoring and creating goals, supporting the attack by pushing forward to make things happen in front of goal.

As aforementioned, though, Celtic need a midfielder who can offer both technical quality and physicality, so that they can compete in the Premiership and in Europe.

When the Hoops last reached the last 16 of a European competition in the 2012/13 Champions League, Wanyama won 65% of his aerial duels across eight appearances in the tournament.

Baur could offer similar strength in aerial duels after he won 65% of his aerial contests in the 2. Bundesliga last term, whilst he also averaged 2.4 tackles and interceptions per match. No Celtic player averaged more tackles or interceptions per game in the league.

These statistics show that the German youngster can offer the attacking contributions that Rogic provided whilst also being strong physically and defensively in the way that Wanyama was back in the day.

The signing of the Paderborn star, therefore, could be key to achieving success in Europe by providing O’Neill with the profile of player that he needs to adapt between competitions, with both offensive and defensive qualities.