Celtic midfielder Arne Engels admits the buzz of lifting his first league title has given him the hunger for more silverware after a successful debut season in Glasgow.
The 21-year-old Belgian arrived from Augsburg last summer in a big-money move and has since played a key role in Brendan Rodgers’ side, helping them clinch both the League Cup and the Premiership title. Engels’ impressive displays have also earned him a nomination for PFA Scotland’s Young Player of the Year award.
Reflecting on Saturday’s 5-0 demolition of Dundee United that sealed the title, Engels said:
“It’s an amazing feeling,” he said, as quoted by The Herald. “It’s my first and I cannot wait to get other ones. It’s like a bit of a drug that you want to achieve so much and win so much. It’s an amazing feeling.
“I’m here to try and win everything. That’s also a different mindset than I had maybe in Augsburg. It wasn’t really about winning everything, but not really losing. Here it’s totally different. You’re expected to win and that’s a nice feeling for me because I had also that mindset already.
“It was easy for me to come in here and get on track with the boys and do the same things that they also did already last year.”
Engels has enjoyed a standout season, contributing 10 goals and 12 assists across all competitions, breaking into the Belgian national team, and becoming a pivotal figure in Celtic’s European progress and domestic dominance.
If a 21-year-old academy product produced a campaign like Engels’, he’d already be valued highly by Celtic fans. That’s the level of impact the young Belgian has had at Celtic Park.
He’s still young and Rodgers does rate him highly, and is expected to kick on next season.
He’s brilliant from set pieces and puts in some dangerous corners. The midfielder is always moving and looking for the ball; he has all the attributes to be a good player for Celtic.
