Celtic supporters may have watched Daizen Maeda’s Japan secure an impressive World Cup draw with Germany on Sunday night.
The Japanese star has one year left on his contract at Parkhead and a strong performance in this competition could increase his chances of securing a move from Glasgow this summer.
Meanwhile, Arne Engels was not selected in Belgium’s squad for the World Cup, but the central midfielder could decide to move to a major European league in the coming weeks.
It was recently reported that Premier League side Sunderland have already made contact with the Hoops over a potential move for their star player, which would cost around £22 million.
Celtic currently face a battle to keep the former Augsburg star, with teams across Europe eyeing him as a potential target.
Celtic interested in signing World Cup midfielder
But Engels, who scored in last month’s SFA Cup final against Dunfermline, is not irreplaceable and Martin O’Neill could enter the market to soften the blow of losing him.
In fact, the Northern Irish head coach is reportedly already considering a star player who could join as an even better option for the club in the middle of the park.
According to the Scottish Sun, Celtic are considering signing Astana central midfielder Ivan Basic in the summer transfer window to strengthen their midfield options.
The report said O’Neill was monitoring his progress at the World Cup with Bosnia after last week’s 1-1 draw with Canada in his 18th international match.
What’s more, Basic is being considered as a possible replacement for Engels, who claims to have attracted interest from Serie A teams Napoli and Lazio.
However, the Scottish Sun has not revealed how much money Astana would demand for their star midfielder if the Hoops decide to make a concrete move on him before the end of the summer period.
Why Ivan Basic could be better than Arne Engels at Celtic
The Scottish Premiership champions should now strive to conclude a contract with the Bosnian player. That’s because he could be an even better option for O’Neill than Engels in midfield.
Engels did not have the best season in the league with the Hoops in 2025/26. He played in 30 games, scoring 3 non-penalty goals and recording 3 assists, but lost 59% of his total matches.
Meanwhile, Basic has enjoyed a strong start to the season in Kazakhstan, but was thrust into the spotlight earlier this month during Bosnia’s first group stage match against Canada.
Canada 1-1 Bosnia | ivan basic |
|---|---|
minutes | 62 |
Pass accuracy | 81% |
successful cross | 5 |
An opportunity has arisen | 5 |
intercept | 2 |
Contribution in defense | 3 |
dribbled past | 0x |
The 24-year-old star created an incredible five chances for his country against Canada. Only Joshua Kimmich against Curacao and Yann Diomande against Ecuador have matched this feat in this summer’s tournament.
Basic also showed his creativity in the start of the 2026 Premier League season in Astana, creating 1.4 chances per game and registering two assists in 10 appearances.
This suggests he has the potential to be an even more creative threat for Celtic than Engels, who only assisted three goals in 30 games in the 2025/26 Premiership.
The Bosnian star also averaged 1.7 successful dribbles per game compared to Engels’ 0.1 in the Premiership, meaning he can provide his team with more dribbles in transition with the ball at his feet.
In terms of off-the-ball contributions, Basic has averaged 8.2 ball recoveries per game in the first 10 games of this year’s Premier League season, showing that he is consistently winning the ball back for his team.
He can win the ball back much more effectively than Engels, who averaged 2.0 recoveries per game at league level for Celtic, and could improve possession conditions for O’Neill’s side.
Basic, 24, will join Parkhead as another player like Engels, but Engels still has time to grow and improve as a player.
However, Celtic may need to act quickly if they want to secure an upgrade for the Belgian, as a better performance at the World Cup could increase the number of teams looking to sign him this summer.
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