Even in an age when data and digital technology has rendered the traditional scout at the side of the park an endangered species, the recruitment of football players is not yet an exact science.
When German club Augsburg splashed out the princely sum of £83,000 to land a teenager called Arne Engels in January of last year, the midfielder was barely a dot on the world game’s radar.
A Club Brugge player from the age of 12 after starting out at KAA Gent, the kid from the municipality of Opwijk had featured for the Under-23 team on only 20 occasions away from the public’s glare.
Playing in the Challenger Pro League — the second tier of the Belgian game — for the reserve team, which is now called Club NXT, Engels was earmarked as one for the future. It just so happened that an eagle-eyed Augsburg representative hidden away among a few hundred supporters one day saw it differently.
In a classic example of footballing espionage, Engels was taken across the border and to Bavaria.
On January 3, 2023, he signed for Augsburg. Just 18 days later, once football resumed after the winter break, he stepped out to make his professional debut at Signal Iduna Park, the home of Bundesliga behemoths Borussia Dortmund.
Engels slides in on Borussia star Jude Bellingham on his Bundesliga debut for Augsburg
The hitherto unknown Belgian star also made his presence felt on striker Sebastien Haller
Engels has wasted little time in making himself a firm favourite with fans at his new club Celtic
A 4-3 loss in front of 81,365 fans was no reflection on the impact he made. In direct opposition to one Jude Bellingham, he more than held his own across 90 minutes.
‘It was crazy, but it did bring the best out of me,’ Engels recalled of playing at the same venue Celtic will visit next Tuesday in the Champions League.
‘Augsburg were already a long time in the Bundesliga. They were in the middle of the table or a bit below. So, it’s obvious that Dortmund was expected to win easily, but it wasn’t like that. It was a good game.
‘It was a 4-3 defeat. Every time 1-1, 2-1, 2-2, 2-3. It was amazing to play in. Also, I grabbed an assist. It was a perfect night for me.’
First impressions last. Engels’ eye-catching contribution that night was enough to see him start in the following match at home to Borussia Monchengladbach — a one-goal win.
He would go on to start 16 straight league matches before missing out against Bochum, but returned for the final two games against Dortmund, (0-3 loss at home) and Monchengladbach (2-0 loss away).
The Belgian midfielder competes with Bayern Munich star Kingsley Coman on Bundesliga duty
It would have been a huge statement of faith in any player. But Augsburg were embroiled in a relegation battle in those difficult weeks, only eventually staying up by a point ahead of Stuttgart.
‘I don’t know what’s happening right now,’ Engels told German broadcaster DAN as his baptism of fire continued apace. ‘It’s crazy, but I’m trying to remain calm.
‘Age doesn’t matter in football. You have to stand your ground, be strong, be ready for every duel. I keep playing my game and I think I’m doing quite well so far.’
An air of calm was the principal quality that led to then manager Enrico Maassen believing he was already officer material.
‘He is very calm, very level- headed, very flexible,’ Maassen told Kicker magazine. ‘He possesses solid physicality, has a very good finish with his left and right foot and has a very good passing game.
Engels was spotted by a savvy Augsburg scout while playing for Club Brugge’s Under-23 side
‘The way he’s playing, I hope he never slips out of the starting team. It’s really impressive.’
That view was echoed by Augsburg’s captain at the time, Ermedin Demirovic, who said: ‘We are all amazed when we see him. He runs a lot, helps the team, which was not to be expected. He is getting better from game to game.’
Engels’ impact in such a short spell was such that he was nominated for Tuttosport’s Golden Boy award that year — with the prize eventually won by none other than Bellingham.
Brugge must have felt they were victims of a mugging. Having sunk to fourth place in the table after Engels’ exit, they were left to wonder how different things might have been had they elevated the player to their first team when it was obvious that he had what it took.
‘Of course, we labelled Arne as a great talent and we would have liked nothing more than for him to stay,’ reflected his former youth coach Rick Di Mil. ‘He would have certainly made it at Brugge, but he preferred to try elsewhere. That certainly worked out well.
‘He has many qualities, a lot of stamina — he is a box-to-box player — and an excellent shooting technique. He is also a great player for a coach because he is so versatile.
The midfielder celebrates a goal for Augsburg in a Bundesliga clash against Freiburg
‘He can play on the outside on the wings as well, although I think he is at his best as a central midfielder. Wherever he is on the pitch, Arne brings energy.’
Even though Augsburg changed managers last season, with Dane Jess Thorup brought in after a difficult start, Engels’ trajectory remained upward.
He featured in 32 of his side’s 34 league games, scoring three times as they secured 11th place. The secret that Augsburg had uncovered was out.
‘He is someone whose technical game and fundamentals are at a high level,’ said ESPN’s German expert Derek Rae. ‘He is more like your modern defensive midfielder, so not a battering ram but someone whose timing is really important. He can play higher up the pitch on the right.’
On the limited evidence seen in Glasgow to date, Augsburg aren’t the only team whose faith in the player at such a young age has been justified.
While eyebrows were raised at Celtic being prepared to go to £11m to get their man — a record fee that was shelled out despite there being a lack of competition for his signature — the initial portents look extremely good.
Brendan Rodgers appears to have unearthed a spectacular replacement for Matt O’Riley
Engels’ Celtic debut from the bench against Rangers oozed class and whetted the appetite of the home supporters. ‘I took it how it is, and we won really well,’ he reflected.
Exuding quality in everything he did, he calmly slotted away penalties against Hearts and Slovan Bratislava before helping out from the bench against Falkirk on Sunday.
After Saturday’s trip to Perth to face St Johnstone, he’ll set his sights on a return to Dortmund on Tuesday. Life can indeed come at you pretty quickly.
Now a full Belgian international after featuring against Israel earlier this month, he’ll need no introduction to the denizens of the famous Yellow Wall this time.
He’s already shone on that famous stage. These days, he feels he belongs there.