Jürgen Klopp Praises Mika Baur's Move to Celtic and Germany Call-Up

Jürgen Klopp has hailed Mika Baur’s bold decision to swap the Bundesliga for Celtic, after handing the young midfielder his first senior Germany call-up.

The 22-year-old is one of the standout surprises in Klopp’s maiden squad, a sprawling 44-man selection split across two separate groups. One will take on the Netherlands and Greece. The other, which includes Baur, is scheduled to face Serbia and Greece, with the Celtic player due to join up with the national team from September 28.

Klopp, now beginning his reign in charge of Germany after his Liverpool tenure, has already spoken directly with Baur about the move to Glasgow – and clearly liked what he heard.

“I consider him really exciting,” he told STV Sport. “He’s absolutely up for it. We also spoke on the phone about the weather in Glasgow – something I know well from Liverpool. With this move, he’s taken on a very challenging step.”

That “challenging step” was a summer transfer from newly-promoted Bundesliga side Paderborn to Celtic in a deal worth around £6 million, off the back of Paderborn’s impressive 2025/26 campaign, in which Baur was almost ever-present.

Any doubts about how quickly he would adapt in Scotland have faded fast. Under Martin O’Neill, Baur has forced his way into the heart of Celtic’s midfield, to the point where experienced summer signing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has recently been left out of the starting XI.

Baur’s influence has already been stamped on the season. He took man-of-the-match honours earlier this month after scoring the winner against St Johnstone, a performance that underlined his ability to decide tight games. He then went the distance in the heat of the Glasgow Derby at Ibrox, playing the full 90 minutes in Celtic’s 3-0 defeat to Rangers.

Those displays, combined with his previous work in Germany’s youth ranks, have clearly caught Klopp’s eye. Baur has represented Germany at under-21 level alongside Said El Mala, Finn Jeltsch and Brajan Gruda. All three have now been promoted with him into Klopp’s first senior squad, a clear signal that the new national coach is ready to trust the next wave.

If Baur does make his senior debut in the coming fixtures, he will step into a small but notable Celtic chapter in German football history. He would join Andreas Thom and Andreas Hinkel as German internationals who have worn the Hoops – a distinguished path for a player who has only just arrived in Glasgow, but already looks determined to leave a mark on two footballing nations.