{"id":48730,"date":"2026-06-15T12:41:26","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T16:41:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/06\/15\/celtic-line-up-moves-to-sign-star-with-18-world-cup-caps\/"},"modified":"2026-06-15T12:41:26","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T16:41:26","slug":"celtic-line-up-moves-to-sign-star-with-18-world-cup-caps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/06\/15\/celtic-line-up-moves-to-sign-star-with-18-world-cup-caps\/","title":{"rendered":"Celtic line-up moves to sign star with 18 World Cup caps"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_74 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/06\/15\/celtic-line-up-moves-to-sign-star-with-18-world-cup-caps\/#Celtic_interested_in_signing_World_Cup_midfielder\" >Celtic interested in signing World Cup midfielder<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/06\/15\/celtic-line-up-moves-to-sign-star-with-18-world-cup-caps\/#Why_Ivan_Basic_could_be_better_than_Arne_Engels_at_Celtic\" >Why Ivan Basic could be better than Arne Engels at Celtic<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-5' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-5'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-5' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-5'><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-5' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/2026\/06\/15\/celtic-line-up-moves-to-sign-star-with-18-world-cup-caps\/#ONeills_answer_to_Kyogo_Celtic_in_contract_talks_with_Filles_6m_replacement\" >O&#8217;Neill&#8217;s answer to Kyogo: Celtic in contract talks with Fille&#8217;s \u00a36m replacement<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Celtic supporters may have watched Daizen Maeda&#8217;s Japan secure an impressive World Cup draw with Germany on Sunday night.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- No AdsNinja v10 Client! --><!-- No AdsNinja v10 Client! --><\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Arne Engels was not selected in Belgium&#8217;s squad for the World Cup, but the central midfielder could decide to move to a major European league in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n<p>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 \u00a322 million.<\/p>\n<p>Celtic currently face a battle to keep the former Augsburg star, with teams across Europe eyeing him as a potential target.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- No AdsNinja v10 Client! --><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"celtic-interested-in-deal-to-sign-world-cup-midfielder\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Celtic_interested_in_signing_World_Cup_midfielder\"><\/span>\n                        <strong>Celtic interested in signing World Cup midfielder<\/strong><br \/>\n               <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>But Engels, who scored in last month&#8217;s SFA Cup final against Dunfermline, is not irreplaceable and Martin O&#8217;Neill could enter the market to soften the blow of losing him.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>According to the Scottish Sun, Celtic are considering signing Astana central midfielder Ivan Basic in the summer transfer window to strengthen their midfield options.<\/p>\n<p>The report said O&#8217;Neill was monitoring his progress at the World Cup with Bosnia after last week&#8217;s 1-1 draw with Canada in his 18th international match.<\/p>\n<p>What&#8217;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.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>    <!-- No AdsNinja v10 Client! --><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"how-ivan-basic-could-be-even-better-than-arne-engels-for-celtic\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_Ivan_Basic_could_be_better_than_Arne_Engels_at_Celtic\"><\/span>\n                        <strong>Why Ivan Basic could be better than Arne Engels at Celtic<\/strong><br \/>\n               <span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p>The Scottish Premiership champions should now strive to conclude a contract with the Bosnian player. That&#8217;s because he could be an even better option for O&#8217;Neill than Engels in midfield. <\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, Basic has enjoyed a strong start to the season in Kazakhstan, but was thrust into the spotlight earlier this month during Bosnia&#8217;s first group stage match against Canada.<\/p>\n<div class=\"table-container\">\n<table border=\"1\" cellpadding=\"1\" cellspacing=\"1\" style=\"\" align=\"\" summary=\"\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th scope=\"col\" style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>Canada 1-1 Bosnia<\/p>\n<\/th>\n<th scope=\"col\" style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>ivan basic<\/p>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>minutes<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>62<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>Pass accuracy<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>81%<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>successful cross<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>5<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>An opportunity has arisen<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>5<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>intercept<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>2<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>Contribution in defense<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>3<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>dribbled past<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td style=\"text-align:center\">\n<p>0x<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n<p>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&#8217;s tournament.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>The Bosnian star also averaged 1.7 successful dribbles per game compared to Engels&#8217; 0.1 in the Premiership, meaning he can provide his team with more dribbles in transition with the ball at his feet. <\/p>\n<p>In terms of off-the-ball contributions, Basic has averaged 8.2 ball recoveries per game in the first 10 games of this year&#8217;s Premier League season, showing that he is consistently winning the ball back for his team.<\/p>\n<p>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&#8217;Neill&#8217;s side.<\/p>\n<p>Basic, 24, will join Parkhead as another player like Engels, but Engels still has time to grow and improve as a player.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<div class=\"display-card  article article-card small  no-badge  active-content                              \" data-include-community-rating=\"false\" id=\"new-kyogo-celtic-in-talks-to-sign-bowie-filet-alternative\" data-nosnippet=\"\">\n<p>                        <\/p>\n<p>                    <span data-field=\"label\" class=\"article-card-label\"><label>related<\/label><\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"w-display-card-content regular article-block\">\n<h5 class=\"display-card-title \"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"ONeills_answer_to_Kyogo_Celtic_in_contract_talks_with_Filles_6m_replacement\"><\/span>\n<p>\t\t\tO&#8217;Neill&#8217;s answer to Kyogo: Celtic in contract talks with Fille&#8217;s \u00a36m replacement<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n<p class=\"display-card-excerpt\">Celtic are reported to be in talks to sign a striker who could be Martin O&#8217;Neill&#8217;s version of Kogo Furuhashi.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Celtic supporters may have watched Daizen Maeda&#8217;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 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48731,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[2128,534,913,40,938,144,43,86,42],"class_list":["post-48730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-caps","tag-celtic","tag-cup","tag-football","tag-lineup","tag-moves","tag-sign","tag-star","tag-world"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48730"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48730\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportsdaily.news\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}