Arne Engels opens up on Celtic move - biggest club claim, Parkhead first impressions and why he greeted Rangers boss

Arne Engels has vowed to take his status as Celtic's record signing in his stride after claiming he has joined the "biggest club in Scotland".

Celtic paid Augsburg £11million to take the Belgium midfielder to Scotland on the final day of the transfer window. Engels made more than 50 appearances in the Bundesliga and made his Belgium debut against Israel on Friday, two days before his 21st birthday. He is determined to keep progressing and feels the expectations at Celtic will help him.

When asked if the club-record fee added extra pressure, the midfielder said: “No, I just want to to enjoy my football.

New Celtic signing Arne Engels was unveiled to the media at Celtic Park on Tuesday. (Photo by Craig Williamson / SNS Group)

“They obviously paid a big amount for me and I want to return a lot for the club and be on my best form here and just perform like I always do. That’s why they did it.

“So it’s just for me to adapt now quickly to the situation, to the team. It’s an amazing team so everybody is teaching me a lot so I think it’s going to be easy to integrate and to perform.”

“It’s a really big club,” he added. “Also, I think it’s the biggest club in Scotland. They play every time for the championship and for the cups.

“So it’s obvious that it’s a step forward for me and also with the new format of the Champions League, I think it can be really amazing and special.

“If you see the new format, then you play in more Champions League games. That’s always nice to play but that’s not the biggest bonus that I wanted to come here.

“It’s just a really big club and also a step forward for me to play for the league and to play to win and to be under pressure to win every game – this is something I want to experience.”

Engels moved to Germany 18 months ago, having come through the youth academy of Club Brugge.

“I left home really early and I needed to do things for my own and look after myself,” he said.

“So I it helped me to grow up really quickly, actually quicker than I expected. But of course it’s hard to go at a young age to to a different country and then it makes it all a bit easier because you know what you did.

“I always believed in myself and that’s why I made the step there and that’s why I also made the step here, because I believe in myself and I want to show what I have got.”

Engels admitted he had a “really hectic” introduction to life in Glasgow, making his debut off the bench against Rangers after only one training session and then flying off for his first senior international camp, but he was delighted to be thrown into the deep end.

“It actually felt like home,” he said. “It felt really good to come on. It was really amazing to get the fans’ attention and to perform in these kind of games.

“I’ve played in a lot of big stadiums in Germany obviously, but here it’s a bit different. It’s just really loud and everybody’s really on top of the game and supporting and pushing us. It was really helpful for the team and that’s what is pushing us to the limits.”

Engels played for Club Brugge’s B team while current Rangers manager Philippe Clement was in charge and the pair greeted each other at Celtic Park before hostilities commenced.

“I worked with him, so it’s normal that we see each other,” Engels said. “It was nice to see him, but it’s for me to beat him. So that’s what we did.”