Player informs club of desire to join Celtic as decision expected within 48 hours
Celtic‘s search for midfield reinforcements has become one of the club’s biggest priorities this summer, particularly with significant changes expected in the centre of the park.
Martin O’Neill has already begun reshaping his squad following another successful domestic season, but the Scottish champions are looking to inject fresh energy and creativity into midfield.
Arne Engels continues to attract strong interest from elsewhere in Europe, while Daizen Maeda’s move to Ipswich Town has provided Celtic with additional funds to reinvest in the squad.
Alongside the arrivals of Kasper Høgh and Camilo Duran, attention has increasingly turned towards strengthening the engine room before the Champions League qualifiers gather pace.
One player who has emerged as a serious target is Mika Baur.
The 22-year-old German midfielder is not yet a household name outside his homeland, but he has quietly built an impressive reputation over the past few seasons.
After progressing through Freiburg’s academy, Baur became the youngest goalscorer on his 3. Liga debut for Freiburg II before earning recognition as one of the club’s brightest prospects.
Although first-team opportunities at Freiburg proved limited, his technical quality and versatility convinced SC Paderborn to sign him in 2024.
After finding regular starts difficult to come by during the first half of last season, Baur joined Dynamo Dresden on loan, where consistent game time helped reignite his progress.
He played an important role as Dresden secured promotion, showing his ability to operate as both a central and attacking midfielder while improving his work rate out of possession.
Those performances also earned him recognition at international level, leading to his first Germany Under-21 call-up earlier this year.
Baur represents the type of young player Celtic have targeted successfully in previous windows, someone with significant upside, experience of German football and room to develop further.
The prospect of Champions League football is also understood to appeal to the player as he weighs up the next step in his career.
Negotiating with Paderborn, however, has proved far from straightforward.
Having just secured promotion to the Bundesliga, the German club are under little financial pressure to sell one of their promising young midfielders. Sporting director Sebastian Lange has made it clear publicly that Paderborn will not accept a fee below their valuation, even with Baur entering the final year of his contract.
Recent reports also suggested Celtic’s opening bid was rejected as talks continue between the two clubs, but there is now reason for positivity.
Mika Baur informs Paderborn of desire to join Celtic
TEAMtalk now reports that Celtic are on the brink of completing a deal for Baur after making significant progress in negotiations.
According to the report, personal terms have already been agreed with the midfielder, while his representatives have been working in Glasgow to finalise the remaining details.
The move is described as increasingly close despite Paderborn’s determination to maximise the transfer fee, with Celtic hopeful an agreement between the clubs can soon be reached after making an improved offer worth nearly £4m including add-ons.
They add that Baur has now informed Paderborn of his desire to join Celtic, with the Germans expected to make a decision to green-light the move within 48 hours.
Should the deal be agreed, Baur would arrive at Celtic Park with considerable potential.
With O’Neill continuing to reshape his squad, the youngster appears to fit the profile of player Celtic have repeatedly shown they are willing to back: young, technically gifted and capable of developing into a valuable first-team star.
