Arne Engels is proving what paying for quality gets you. Will the Celtic board see the light though?

Today at 10:04 AM

After Wednesday night, I think its becoming apparent to most Celtic fans what kind of player we have on our hands in Arne Engels.

I wrote in detail about what he brings to the table in my synopsis of the game against Slovan Bratislava.

In order to flesh this article out properly, I need to go back to the summer window just closed.

During that time, I heavily criticised our board for the level of inaction from them, until the last minute that is, and the last day of that window.

In hindsight, we all know exactly what Brendan Rodgers had stated he wanted.

We know he got what he wanted now.

Without going into again, that window could have been handled a lot better than it was.

But I’ll park that for now, and focus on the here and now.

And the results of that window.

I was heavily criticised for my criticism of the board during the summer.

Needless to say, I didn’t hold back.

I never do.

Arne Engels excellent performance on Wednesday night made me feel vindicated in many ways.

You see, I spent much of the summer window being castigated like I was someone who wanted the board to go out and spend every penny we had in the bank.

It is in written record, and fully searchable in my website, that I never once stated that.

For a long time now, I have been an advocate of spending a bit more on quality players, than say, spending £20 million on ten projects.

Up until the summer window, I decried the folly of that policy.

I wrote many blogs highlighting how much it actually cost us in wasted transfer funds.

Yes, I know there may have been rare gems discovered using that policy, but rare is the operative word here.

I also know that Matt O’Riley is a prime example of how it has worked on occasion.

He cost £1.5 million, and over time he will have netted us close to £30 million.

But he was exactly that, a rare gem.

That’s why he’ll ply his trade at a top 5 EPL club before very long.

Sometimes, though, there are rare gems hidden in plain sight, like Arne Engels for example.

But the gems that are hidden in plain sight come at a cost that is much higher than those you might discover for a lesser fee.

However, what is abundantly clear already here, is that Arne Engels is a gem of player.

Right now, he may be a rough cut gem, but over time, he will become the polished article.

After witnessing his performance on Wednesday night, and what he brings to our squad, this is an undeniable fact.

He has the perfect mentor in Brendan Rodgers to ensure that.

Barring a series catastrophic injuries, this guy has what it takes to go all the way.

And some day, I hope not too soon, he will net our club a huge transfer fee.

But there is something else that Arne Engels has done, he has proven that if you’re willing to spend the money, £11 million rising to £13 million to be precise, then you’re going to get what you paid for.

A quality box to box midfielder, the kind of player this club has been crying out for years now.

Now, I know that spending big on a player does not always guarantee that you’re going to land a superstar.

Many players over the years who have commanded high transfer fees, have gone on to be complete flops.

The key in all of this is having an eye for spotting talent.

And there is no doubting Brendan Rodgers has that.

We’ll never know for sure how long Rodgers was courting Arne Engels.

But I’d be confidently willing to bet that when he had his meeting with Michael Nicholson and Chris McKay in the U.S., Arne Engels was one of the names he put in front of them.

I don’t doubt that Rodgers definitely wanted Engels.

In fact, I’m pretty sure he made it very clear to the CEO and the CFO that he did.

I would hope and pray that board the saw exactly WHY he wanted him on Wednesday night last.

Because you’d be blind not to.

I would also hope that an awakening is beginning to occur.

And by that, I mean that I would hope the board are starting to understand the merits of paying that extra bit for quality.

In reality, it is a win win for the club.

First and foremost, we know that the board will always want a return on their investment.

And if they spend £13 million, a club record, on a player, they will sure as hell want a decent return on what they’ve spent.

This is a far cry from gambling £1.5 to £3 million on a project in the hopes that he’ll come good.

This is a serious investment.

It is a hitherto unknown way of operating for our uber conservative board.

A leap of faith in Brendan Rodgers’ ability to identify a serious talent.

I’m completely aware that it is very early days yet when it comes to Arne Engels’ Celtic career.

But I’m also confident I’m not jumping the gun here.

And I’ll tell you why.

There are many 21 year olds out there that you could ask to go out and perform on an intense Champions League night, in probably one of the most passionate European venues in the game, who would be awestruck by the whole scenario.

They might perform, they might not.

But Arne Engels?

He played like he was made to play in an atmosphere and a venue like Celtic Park on a Champions League night.

During the Champions League anthem, as the camera panned down through the players of both sides, it picked up Engels, not in awe, but nodding his head in appreciation of the noise the fans of his new club were generating.

But he was also nodding his head and saying, “this is where I belong, this is my stage, and now I will show them exactly what I can do on it.”

And he did exactly that.

Arne Engels is proving to both us, the fans, and the Celtic board, that when you pay for quality, you get exactly that.

Quality.

Will this signal a sea-change in our board’s attitude when it comes to players transfers?

Will they see the light in this kind of player trading model and move away from the project model?

Only time will tell.

Arne Engels might just change the fortunes of our club in Europe.

But in addition, he might also change the outdated attitudes of our board.

He might not know it now, but Arne Engels might just be the catalyst for huge change at Celtic.

The tenuous seeds of hope have been sown.

Let’s hope they blossom into Celtic becoming a force in Europe once again.

Its not before time.

This has been 20 years in the making.

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