Celtic ace hails 'chilled' playmaker's dressing room influence and 'quality' skillset which downed Aberdeen

Cameron Carter-Vickers has backed record signing Arne Engels to develop into a Celtic matchwinner after his encouraging performance in the 6-0 win over Aberdeen in the Premier Sports Cup semi-final.

It was the combination of Engels and Carter-Vickers that struck the first blow to Aberdeen in the semi-final thrashing at the weekend, when the Belgian’s pinpoint corner was bulleted home by the American to open the floodgates at Hampden Park.

Despite a strong start at Celtic, Engels saw his position in the starting XI come under scrutiny from sections of the Celtic fanbase in recent weeks, prompting head coach Brendan Rodgers to throw his support behind the youngster.

Arne Engels beats Duk in Saturday's Premier Sports Cup semi-final at Hampden. Cr: SNS Group. | SNS Group

Rodgers insisted the Belgian had “shown more than enough” and would be a “fantastic player” for Celtic before last month’s game with Motherwell, with those comments echoed by Carter-Vickers in the aftermath of Engels’ energy-busting display against Aberdeen.

“I think he's been really good,” said Carter-Vickers. “His work off the ball and throughout since he's been here has been really good. He's definitely got that kind of power and strength in the midfield to get back and also be kind of box-to-box player. He's definitely got quality as well.”

Engels, who grabbed his second assist of the game when he fed Nicolas Kuhn for Celtic’s sublime fifth, provided boundless energy as he closed down, chased and harried Aberdeen all over the pitch in the dominant win.

Both Graeme Shinnie and Sivert Heltne Nilsen had proven to be difficult opponents during last month’s 2-2 draw between the sides at Celtic Park in the Scottish Premiership, however, Engels was far too powerful for both on Saturday as Celtic rolled over the previously unbeaten Dons with ease.

Celtic's Arne Engels celebrates after Cameron Carter-Vickers scores to make it 1-0 against Aberdeen. Cr: SNS Group. | SNS Group

Carter-Vickers was delighted to mark his recent return from injury with a goal. “I don't score that often,” said the Celtic defender. “It was a good feeling. It was a great ball by Arnie [Engels], with a great whip on it and it kind of dipped perfectly for me.

“He's young. I think he'll say that he can definitely improve - and he’ll be wanting to improve at that age. But you kind of see the quality he has in training. There’s definitely more to come from him. He’s a really nice guy. Really relaxed, chilled guy. There's no real ego or anything like that. He's fitted right into the group and that's what you're looking for.”

Carter-Vickers and his team-mates will now switch their focus to the Champions League on Tuesday, as they look to build on an impressive point against Atalanta last month. The American defender is expected to keep his place for the game against RB Leipzig on Tuesday and admits he is excited to test himself at the highest level after missing the game in Bergamo with injury.

“All the games in the Champions League are a challenge,” he said. “I thought the boys did really well away in Atlanta to get a point. For us, it's just about trying to get to the next stage of the competition and if we can get something from the game on Tuesday, we'll almost be there.”