Celtic Signed Him Seven Weeks Ago And Now Mika Baur Has Made German Football History!

What a night for Mika Baur.

Just seven weeks after becoming a Celtic player, the 22-year-old is now a full German international — and he has managed to make a little bit of history while doing it.

I’ll be honest, I didn’t even realise he had been called up to the German national team.

Baur came off the bench in the 77th minute of Germany’s 2-0 Nations League victory over Serbia, replacing Tom Bischof and becoming the 1,000th different player to represent the German men’s national team.

That is some achievement.

Think about the history of German football and the players who have worn that shirt since their first international in 1908. Baur will forever be number 1,000.

And he’s done it as a Celtic player – class!

What makes it even more impressive is that this wasn’t some meaningless friendly where Jürgen Klopp decided to throw a few youngsters on for a laugh.

These were competitive Nations League minutes, handed to him by one of the most decorated managers of the modern era.

That rubber-stamps what Celtic clearly saw in Baur when they invested heavily in bringing him over from Paderborn.

The initial fee was around £4.5million so they say, potentially rising to £6.8million with add-ons.

For Celtic, that represents a proper investment in a young player they clearly believe can develop into something special.

I’d argue we’ve already seen flashes of it.

Two goals in his first ten Celtic appearances isn’t bad going for a midfielder either, including that Europa League goal. There’s a footballer in there.

Unfortunately, Baur has become as much a victim of Celtic’s current malaise as anyone else.

When the team is struggling collectively, confidence disappears and performances fall off across the park, it becomes increasingly difficult for a 22-year-old who has been in Scotland for seven weeks to suddenly take games by the scruff of the neck.

That shouldn’t change how we view his potential.

If anything, tonight should remind us of it.

Jürgen Klopp has looked at Mika Baur and decided he’s good enough to be involved with Germany.

Now he’s looked at him again and decided he’s good enough to get onto the pitch in a competitive international.

That’s quite an endorsement.

I’ve said previously that Celtic probably got this deal done later than they should have. Baur arrived after important preparation had already been done and was immediately being asked to integrate into a team with massive European games approaching.

But that’s an argument about Celtic’s recruitment timing, not the player.

We’re expecting big things from Mika Baur.

Tonight, he achieved something that nobody can ever take away from him.

Germany international number 1,000.

Not bad for your first cap.

Congratulations, Mika.