Brendan Rodgers has told Arne Engels’ doubters they should “learn their lesson” from previous players they were too quick to judge.
Celtic broke their transfer record to sign the Belgian midfielder from Augsburg for £11m in the summer.
He was widely viewed as a replacement for Matt O’Riley following his move to Brighton but, with three goals and six assists in 16 appearances, many critics believe he has not lived up to expectations so far.
Nicolas Kuhn and Paulo Bernardo were criticised over their early performances with Celtic
The 21-year-old was replaced by Paulo Bernardo after an hour of Wednesday’s 1-1 Champions League draw with Club Brugge, with some calling for the Portuguese midfielder to start ahead of him in upcoming games.
But Rodgers was quick to point out both Bernardo and Nicolas Kuhn received similar criticism before finding their form with the Scottish champions.
“The most recent example of that would be Paulo. It was exactly the same, if I remember back, highlighting him in his performances this time last year,” the Celtic boss said ahead of Saturday’s Premiership match against Ross County.
“Now, he can’t be cheered on loud enough when he enters on to the pitch. That’s called development, it’s called patience, it’s called time.
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Kuhn scored in Celtic’s win at Hearts in their last Premiership match
“Arne is a fantastic young player, otherwise we wouldn’t have brought him here. He doesn’t set the price.
“He’s come here to a big club to improve his game and I’ve got absolutely no doubt he will do that.
“I know it won’t be the case, but I would hope that people will learn their lesson. The same people that were writing off Paulo and Nicolas Kuhn, it’ll be Arne Engels, it’ll be someone else.
“Some will hit the ground running and be fine and adapt perfectly but not everyone is like that, especially a young player.
“I’ve been really pleased since he’s come in because I know the future for him. He will improve, he will develop and get better. We’ve seen it so many times.”
Alistair Johnston has been nominated for the FIFA World Best XI
Rodgers also expressed his delight at right-back Alistair Johnston’s nomination for the FIFA World Best XI in recognition of his performances for both Celtic and Canada in 2024.
“It’s absolutely brilliant for him,” he added.
“It recognises the consistency that he’s played internationally and domestically, and shows how he’s rising as a football player. It’s a great honour for him to be recognised on that list.”
