2 Celtic stars saluted by Belgian football royalty as man Rodgers signed for £9m has a message for Arne Engels

Belgium keeper Simon Mignolet has backed Arne Engels to come good at Celtic and for the Red Devils.

The Hoops record £11m signing struggled to make an impact in Wednesday’s Champions League 1-1 draw with fellow countrymen Club Brugge and he was eventually hooked after half-time. Engels is still finding his feet at Parkhead but the 21-year-old has already broken into the Belgium side. Shotstopper Mignolet – who retired from national duty in the summer – admitted the playmaker when he was a kid on the books at Brugge is convinced the Celt has a huge future.

He said: “He is doing really well. I had him in a fair few training sessions at Brugge and you could see he had a really good right foot. He has shown in every single game that he has played here that he can have a really good future, not only with Celtic but also with Belgium. So I hope for him that he keeps playing like that. Luckily, the other night he didn’t score.”

Mignolet was pleased with a Champions League point at Parkhead and he wasn’t surprised by the Celtic style under his old Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers. The Hoops gaffer splashed out £9m for the Belgian when he was at Anfield and the keeper admitted he’s aways admired Rodgers’s attacking approach.

Mignolet said: “I think you can see it in the team – Celtic keep on playing football. He always wants his team to play from the back, to have the ball, to be in possession and you saw that throughout the whole game.

“They didn’t play one long ball in the whole game. That is probably why they came back in the second half. We were pushed back towards our own box and couldn’t come out of the pressure any more, although we had those chances on the counter attack. That is due to his football philosophy.”

Mignole