McGregor couldn’t have started the campaign in better fettle. In four Scottish Premiership matches, he has scored three long-range strikes against Hibernian, St Mirren and Rangers, reaping the benefits of having less football to play.
Admitting his choice came as a result of being at the ‘right time’ in his career to make sure he prolongs his legacy, it is clear that Celtic will be the ones to benefit following years of his tireless endeavour at both club and international level.
Now, Aston Villa’s John McGinn has highlighted why the Tartan Army will miss his influence in the engine room.
John McGinn on Callum McGregor’s international retirement
Speaking to The Daily Record, McGinn has paid tribute to McGregor’s brilliant professionalism and believes his absence offers up the chance for someone else to step into his shoes.
He stated: “It’s not taken me by surprise. Cal’s not had a break in the summer for years. How he’s managed to do what he’s done is a credit to him. He’s a great professional, great teammate. And I’m sure if his body allowed him to carry on, he probably would have.
“He was passionate to play for Scotland. The way he’s playing, the way he’s shooting from outside the box every game and finding the top corner, it’s certainly going to be a big loss for us.
“So it’s been great to play alongside him but Cal’s made his call and we respect it and support him. And hopefully someone could step up in his place.”
It pains me to say it, but McGregor is 31 now and isn’t getting any younger. In light of this, giving himself a few breaks during the season to recover puts him at the least risk of suffering injury concerns, something he battled through last season to lead the way in Celtic’s title fight.
Scotland’s focus now turns to his potential replacement. Ryan Gauld has been called into their squad; meanwhile, Lennon Miller is a fine prospect brewing away at Motherwell.
In future international camps, one wonders if a certain Luke McCowan could enter the equation should he manage to gain regular minutes at the reigning Scottish champions.
This has been a really exciting week for the Celtic fans as they enjoy the headlines over Brendan Rodgers’ latest win over Rangers.
Celtic have had a blistering start to their domestic campaign and have blown away Kilmarnock, Hibs, St Mirren and now the Ibrox club.
But as the dust settles on the Glasgow Derby win at Celtic Park, attention will soon turn to the upcoming Champions League campaign.
Celtic have been drawn against Borussia Dortmund, Atalanta, Leipzig, Aston Villa, Young Boys, GNK Dinamo, Slovan Bratislava and Club Brugge in the new competition format.
And whilst there are tough ties in there, Gordon Strachan believes Celtic can qualify after spotting an ‘advantage’ the new UEFA format has given them.
Celtic can rekindle ‘special’ Champions League nights
Celtic’s record in the Champions League has been covered to the nth degree. And whilst the fans want to see realistic progress in the tournament, Strachan believes that his old club have a great chance of progressing.
Strachan told the Daily Express [print edition page 68], “The extra game at Celtic Park could give them an advantage.
“Brendan Rodgers has mentioned he wants to have a real go in the competition this season and that could help him.
“In the previous format, I always believed you needed at least one big scalp to get through. We managed to beat AC Milan and this was when Milan were at their absolute peak.
“That was a great Milan team we beat in 2007-08. We beat Manchester United the season before.
“When you’re playing the best teams with the best players when you can give your fans a victory, those are the special nights that live long in the memory.
“That’s what you need to get through and I imagine it will be the same with the new format.”
Celtic need European progression
Celtic fans of my vintage will remember the dark days of Europe in the 80s and 90s which was then eclipsed by the Martin O’Neill era of the 2000s.
The legendary Celtic manager restored the club’s reputation in Europe by fashioning wins against the likes of Liverpool, AC Milan and Juventus as he squared up to clubs in the Champions League and took Celtic to the UEFA Cup final in 2003.
Gordon Strachan and Neil Lennon continued the trend but Celtic’s recent record on the continent has been poor.
With Brendan Rodgers looking to remedy that, the Celtic supporters will be hoping that the Irishman’s good work in the summer transfer window will pay off and the Parkhead club qualify from their group for the first time since 2013.
Celtic summer signing Arne Engels was in the youth ranks of the Bhoys’ Champions League opponents, Club Brugge, earlier in his career.
The 20-year-old spent three years at Club NXT, the academy wing of the Belgian giants, before departing for Augsburg in 2023 without making a senior appearance.
Since then, Engels went on to feature 53 times for the Bundesliga outfit, registering nine goals and three assists across all competitions. In a significant week from a personal standpoint, Celtic signed the Dendermonde-born midfielder for a landmark £11 million fee.
He also received a call-up for the senior Belgium squad for the second time in a few months, illustrating that Domenico Tedesco is aware of his talent. Capping off a manic few days, the Red Devil debuted for Celtic in a 3-0 victory over Rangers last Sunday.
While he bids to make his debut for his country against either Israel or France in the Nations League, Engels has also opened up on meeting some of his old friends in the Champions League.
Arne Engels on facing Club Brugge in the Champions League
Celtic are pencilled in to take on Club Brugge in the Champions League come late November. In many ways, the fixture will serve as a reminder of where it all started for Engels.
Speaking to Gazet van Antwerpen, the new kid on the block is looking forward to facing off against the Jupiler Pro League side.
He explained, firstly referencing his move to Celtic: “A very nice step. It will be nice to compete for the title. This is a step forward. In Scotland, you don’t play against Joan and Mieke. And there’s the Champions League. With a nice, new format for me: eight top matches, nice.”
Engels then added: “I wanted to keep developing myself, at Club I felt that wasn’t possible. Hence, Augsburg is a good choice. I am very happy that I will play against Club in the Champions League, though.
“I was in the taxi, on my way to Celtic, at the time of the draw. I’m going to see a lot of old friends again when I play against Club. There are still a lot of people working there that I care about.”
Engels has arrived at Celtic with expectation on his shoulders due to his price tag. However, the best thing for supporters to do is to allow him to settle into life at the club without heaping pressure on the talent.
At just 20 years of age, he comes into a squad already bristling with talent and there is no need to rush his progress.
In time, I’m sure he’ll be a fantastic addition. Brendan Rodgers wanted him in the building as a top target, so it’ll be exciting to see Engels thrive.
As the international break kicks in, Celtic have a number of players heading off to represent their country over the next couple of weeks.
It’s a period of the season that most Celtic fans don’t enjoy, however, what the international break does is give an insight into how other people in football see the Parkhead players away from the Glasgow goldfish bowl.
This kind of insight can be quite interesting and first up this week is Celtic goalkeeper, Kasper Schmeichel as he heads off with Denmark for the next couple of weeks.
Lars Knudsen hails ‘class’ Celtic goalkeeper
67 Hail Hail has already discussed today why Schmeichel was annoyed at his Denmark call-up. The Celtic star shared how the Denmark captaincy has been passed on to Spurs’ Pierre Emile Højbjerg this week.
But whilst the leadership baton has been passed on, Denmark boss, Lars Knudsen, has shared just how important the Celtic summer signing is to his international plans.
Knudsen told the Politiken [print edition page 11], “Kasper will be on Thursday at least. We have to wait and see if he also stands on Sunday.
“Kasper is a class goalkeeper. If you look at what he’s doing at the moment and the praise he’s getting very well deserved in Scotland, you can see how good he is.
“Last season he was in the team of the year in Belgium and was number 2 in the voting to be the league’s best player.
“He’s doing great for us, and with the experience and passion he has for the team, he can really bring something to us.”
Schmeichel is a leader at Celtic
Kasper Schmeichel is already a huge hit with the Celtic fans as he still settles into the club after his big summer move.
He has already shown how well he marshalls the Celtic defence and after his performance against Rangers, it’s little wonder he’s been touted as a perfect signing for Brendan Rodgers.
With six appearances for Celtic under his belt, Schmeichel’s biggest test will come when the Champions League kicks off later this month.
Then and only then will the Celtic fans see the true worth of the experienced ‘keeper and there is no doubt he will be so important to Brendan Rodgers’ hopes of progressing past the group stages.
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