ARNE ENGELS got his first taste of the Glasgow derby when he made his debut just two days after sealing his record £11million arrival almost a year ago.
The elegant midfielder was signed from Bundesliga outfit Augsburg on deadline day along with central defender Auston Trusty, £6million from Sheffield United, and Dundee skipper Luke McCowan, who was snapped up for £1million.
Engels and the ex-Dens Parker made their Celtic bows as second-half substitutes as the champions rampaged to a 3-0 triumph with goals from Daizen Maeda, Kyogo Furuhashi and Callum McGregor.
The Belgian international also featured in the Premier Sports League Cup Final penalty-kick triumph over Philippe Clement’s Ibrox side at Hampden in mid-December as he lifted his first honour at his new club.
SEE YOU LATER…Arne Engels powers past Mo Diamande as Callum McGregor helps out.
But the story took an unexpected twist when Engels suffered two back-to-back losses from the Govan club after the turn of the year.
An Adam Idah equaliser in the 1-1 draw at Ibrox in May prevented the hat-trick from hell.
Engels is now aiming to turn the clock back nearly 12 months and enjoy his second Premiership success at the same venue on Sunday.
The 21-year-old smooth operator said: “Everybody knows what’s on the line. Everybody knows what the derby are and that we need to win.
“It is always like this in those games. That is our main objective. We want to perform well and I’m sure that we will.
“There is always going to be pressure. That will be nothing different to a normal derby game.
“Everybody knows what the fans – and what we as a team – expect from ourselves.
“We want to attack and create a lot and, hopefully, score goals. That is up to us to put in a good performance and win the game.”
PLAY MISTY FOR ME…Arne Engels at Hampden during the Premier Sports League Cup Final in December on his way to his first honour as a Celtic player.
Engels also welcomed his fellow countryman Michel-Ange Balikwisha to Celtic after the winger sealed his £4.5million move from Royal Antwerp.
The 24-year-old wide Bhoy trained with his new team-mates earlier today and is hoping to get the nod for his first-team baptism on Sunday.
Engels, speaking to Celtic TV, added: “I am really happy that he is here. I know a bit about him, he is a really good player for our team and I hope he enjoys it. I think he will help us a lot.
“He is a player without a lot of actions and drive. He really wants to press and play forward, so I think he is someone who really suits our playing style.
“I’m hoping that he can do the same things that he delivered when I played with him before, but also with Antwerp.
“He has been playing really well there, with good games and scoring a lot of goals and assists. I hope he can do the same here.”
The champions go into their fourth league encounter of the season with a 100 per cent record after wins over St Mirren (1-0), Aberdeen (2-0) and Livingston (3-0).
