Neil Lennon issues ‘unbelievable’ reaction as major Celtic sale mooted
Celtic’s former manager Neil Lennon has given an update on the future of “assets” Arne Engels and Luke McCowan.
The Scottish champions seemed to be suffering a European hangover against Hibernian, losing 2-1 against their opponents in a shock upset.
Celtic lost to Bayern Munich in controversial fashion, with Daizen Maeda seemingly fouled in the build-up to the German’s 94th minute tie-winning goal from Alphonso Davies.
The Glaswegian side have had great success in recent years by selling their best players, and then reinvesting those funds back into more affordable prospects with high upside.
Engels was signed from Augsburg for £11million in the summer, and started both legs against Bayern, the Belgian midfielder became Celtic’s record signing after Matt O’Riley was sold to Brighton.
Celtic make ‘unbelievable success’ of turning players into ‘assets’
Speaking on Premier Sports 2 during Celtic’s match-up with Hibs, Lennon was asked whether the Hoops will make another major sale in the summer. The former manager of the Scottish champions said (1.10pm):
“Possibly, there’s a lot of assets in that team and that squad. It’s not as a coach what you like to do.
“[Matt] O’Riley went in the summer for about 30 million, he was a great player and had a fantastic season, but, you know, the evolution has been seamless.
“If anything Celtic have improved again this year, and then you go and get players like an [Arne] Engels or a [Luke] McCowan and turn them into assets.
“They’ve been working like this for the last 15 or 20 years with unbelievable success.”
| 2024/25 Scottish Premiership stats | Engels | McCowan |
| Appearances | 23 | 25 |
| Starts | 14 | 14 |
| Minutes | 1,241 | 1,199 |
| Goals | 8 | 7 |
| Assists | 3 | 4 |
| Yellow cards | 2 | 0 |
Engels was the headline-catching signing last summer, but McCowan, mentioned by Lennon, has quietly become an important part of Rodgers’ side.
The former Dundee midfielder was signed for £1million and has already made 28 appearances for the Bhoys in all competitions.
Celtic can shed status as selling club with Champions League success
Football Insider Verdict
As a football fan, it can often be worse to see your team lose narrowly, as opposed to being pummelled.
Celtic fans were moments away from an improbable, and historic victory over Bayern, before the Canadian left-back, Davies, connected to the rebound of a great save from Kasper Schmeichel.
Qualifying for the knockouts of the Champions League guaranteed Celtic £38million, but the failure to hang-on against the German giants put a cap on any more potential big-money paydays.
However, if the Hoops can make a habit of qualifying for the knockouts in the coming seasons, they may well be able to use that cash to start buying stars, rather than selling them.