Arne Engels 'better' than Celtic hero Matt O'Riley as new signing gets huge endorsement
Arne Engels has played just two-and-a-bit games for Celtic but has already proved he is BETTER than Matt O'Riley.
That's the view of pundit Gordon Dalziel who has pinned his colours to the mast based on what he has seen. O'Riley proved to be an exceptional bit of business for the Hoops, coming in for £1.5million from MK Dons before being sold to Brighton this summer for £30million.
The 23-year-old was Celts' player of the year and players' player of the year last season after an outstanding campaign which saw him plunder 19 goals from midfield and add 19 assists. It can be extremely difficult to replace that sort of output but Engels was quickly identified as the man for the job and became the club's record signing at £11m, with the potential for add-ons taking the fee even higher.
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He made his debut with a cameo off the bench against Rangers before impressing against Hearts and then in the Champions League against Slovan Bratislava, scoring from the penalty spot in both those starts. Former Rangers man Dalziel reckons he's seen enough already to know the Belgian is an upgrade on Brighton's new signing.
He told Clyde One's Superscoreboard: "I'm going to make a big statement. I think he's better than Matt O'Riley. I do, I just see everything in this guy.
"What I've seen of him, this guy has every single thing in his locker. He's 21 years of age, he's got off to a terrific start. The confidence he's got, composed on the penalty kicks. I'm telling you he's a better player than Matt O'Riley, all day long and twice on a Sunday. I'm not being disrespectful to Matt O'Riley. I would play him (Engels) before O'Riley."