Arne Engels Opens Up on “Incredible feeling” After First Belgium Call-up

It has been a whirlwind week for new Celtic midfielder Arne Engels.

The former Augsburg man made an £11m switch from the Bundesliga to Scotland last Friday, the same day that he received his maiden senior Belgium call-up.

Then less than 48 hours later he was handed his Hoops debut in the biggest derby in world Football.

Engels coped well with being thrown in for the last half an hour against Rangers, constantly demanding the ball in the middle of the park.

He will look to make more of an impression on his manager and the support when he returns from international duty next week.

Indeed, the 20-year-old will be in contention to play for his country in matches against Israel and France this Friday and next Monday respectively.

His call-up came as somewhat of a surprise, with Engels admitting the emotions he felt when he received it were next to none.

“It’s an incredible feeling”, he said (RecordSport).

“Being called up for the first time, it is a real childhood dream for me. I think everyone in Belgium would dream of playing for the national team. I’m really happy to be here.

“It is true that I am not very well known in Belgium and that did not bother me until now. I could easily go to a restaurant without being recognised. That may change now, but it does not bother me either. It is part of the life of a Footballer.”

Engels does have some fierce comPetition for minutes in the Belgium engine room.

The likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Amadou Onana, and Youri Tielemans are all at the disposal of boss Domenico Tedesco.

The new bhoy might find Game time hard to come by, but training alongside English Premier League players the calibre of De Bruyne and Tielemans will do him no harm.