Celtic’s £6.8m Summer Buy Is A £17m Target: Should Celtic Sell?

Celtic’s £6.8m Summer Buy Is A £17m Target: Should Celtic Sell? Celtic left the weekend four points clear in the Scottish Premiership, yet the 1-0 win over Kilmarnock, settled by Liam Scales, felt like relief rather than a statement. Defeat at Falkirk, the hosts’ first win over Celtic since 2007, and a 2-2 draw with Dundee United had cost Martin O’Neill’s side the chance to move seven points clear, and they now have 31 points from 13 games. Europe has hurt more. Three straight Europa League defeats, including a 4-1 loss at Benfica, ended only when Camilo Duran’s late double beat Besiktas 3-2 on Thursday, their first points of the league phase. The weakness sits in midfield. Celtic sold Arne Engels to West Ham for around £22 million, losing 17 goals and 22 assists from 100 appearances, and never found a like-for-like replacement. O’Neill, who followed last season’s league and Scottish Cup double by taking the job permanently in June, admitted in September that Celtic would have to return to the market in January. “You’d have to, very much so,” he said. Opponents have exploited that gap on the counter-attack, because the midfield too often fails to protect the back four, as Dundee United showed on October 28. One summer signing has covered some of the damage. Mika Baur cost £6.8 million from Paderborn in August, and the Daily Record reports interest from the Premier League, Bundesliga and Serie A, with Celtic likely to demand more than £17 million. GLASGOW, SCOTLAND – OCTOBER 22: Mika Baur of Celtic is seen during the UEFA Europa League 2026/27 League Phase MD3 match between Celtic FC and Real Club Celta at Celtic Park on October 22, 2026 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images) The 22-year-old has four goals this season and became Germany’s 1,000th international under Jurgen Klopp. He passes well with both feet, shoots from distance and arrives late in the box, but at 172cm he is no bruiser, and he won 47.7 per cent of his duels at Paderborn. An ankle injury against Kilmarnock threatens that rise while Celtic await scan results. His contract runs until 2030, no release clause exists, and Celtic have no plans to sell in January. Should Celtic reject every offer for Baur? Yes, at least for this winter. A £10 million profit tempts, but Baur is O’Neill’s preferred midfielder to connect defence with attack, and a January sale would repeat the Engels mistake, leaving two midfield vacancies. The better plan pairs Baur with a physical ball-winner, freeing him to pass and shoot. If a £17 million bid arrives next summer and a ball-winner is already in place, Celtic should talk. For now, their best midfielder is doing a job a specialist should do for him.