Celtic will sign an 18-game World Cup star

Celtic fans may be tuning in to watch Daizen Maeda’s Japan take on Germany in the World Cup on Sunday night.

The Japanese star has one year left on his contract at Parkhead and a good performance in the competition could increase his chances of a move away from Glasgow this summer.

Meanwhile, Arne Engels failed to include Belgium in the World Cup, but the midfielder could still sign for one of Europe’s biggest leagues in the coming weeks.

It was recently reported that Sunderland, who play in the Premier League, have already contacted the Hoops regarding the departure of this star, who could be worth around £22m.

Celtic are now facing a struggle to keep hold of this player who once ran in Augsburg, teams from all over Europe are looking at him as a potential target.

Celtic are keen to sign the World Cup midfielder

Engels, who scored in the SFA Cup final against Dunfermline last month, cannot be replaced, however, and Martin O’Neill could dip into the market to soften the blow of losing him.

In fact, the Northern Irish head coach is already reportedly looking at the star who could come in as the club’s best option in the middle of the park.

According to The Scottish Sun, Celtic are eyeing a deal to sign Astana midfielder Ivan Basic in the summer transfer window to bolster their midfield options.

The report says O’Neill’s side are still monitoring his progress in the World Cup against Bosnia, after last week’s 1-1 draw with Canada, which was his 18th international.

He also added that Basic is being considered as a possible replacement for Engels, who they say has attracted Serie A teams Napoli and Lazio.

However, The Scottish Sun does not reveal how much Astana would want for their midfielder if the Hoops decide to make a formal move for his services before the end of the summer window.

How could Ivan Basic be better than Celtic’s Arne Engels

The Scottish Premiership champions should now push for a deal for the Bosnian international as he has the best chance of picking Engels in midfield over O’Neill.

Engels did not have the smoothest season in the league for the Hoops in the 2025/26 campaign. He scored three non-penalty goals and provided three assists in 30 games, while losing 59% of all his duels.

Meanwhile, Basic enjoyed a good start to the season in Kazakhstan before catching the eye against Canada in the group stage opener in Bosnia earlier this month.

The 24-year-old star created five impressive chances for his country against Canada. Only Joshua Kimmich, against Curaçao, and Yan Diomande, against Ecuador, have matched this figure in competition this summer.

Basic also showed his creative quality at the start of the 2026 Premier League season with Astana, creating 1.4 chances per game and providing two assists in ten appearances.

This suggests he has the potential to be more of a creative threat to Celtic than Engels, who assisted just three goals in 30 Premiership appearances in the 2025/26 campaign.

The Bosnian star also averaged 1.7 dribble finishes per game, compared to Engels’ 0.1 in the Premiership, meaning he can contribute more to the team when he switches the ball at his feet.

In terms of his contributions to football, he basically got an average of 8.2 balls per game in the first ten games of the Premier League season this year, which shows that he always wins for his team.

He is more effective at winning the ball back than Engels, who averaged 2.0 goals per game at league level for Celtic, and could improve O’Neill’s team’s ability to manage.

At the age of 24, Basic will once again arrive at Parkhead as another player, like Engels, who has time on his side to develop and improve as a player.

Celtic may need to act quickly if they want to land the Belgian, however, as an impressive performance at the World Cup could increase the number of clubs looking to sign him this summer.