Mika Baur: Celtic playmaker earns first senior Germany call-up

Standfirst

• Jurgen Klopp has named Celtic playmaker Mika Baur in his first Germany squad since taking charge of the national team.
• Baur, 22, joined Celtic from Paderborn for around £4million in the summer. Scored the winner in Celtic’s 1-0 win at St Johnstone.
• Germany’s next assignments come in the Nations League, against the Netherlands, Greece and Serbia.

Mika Baur: how it happened

Mika Baur has needed only a few months to move from a £4 million switchout of the German second tier to his first senior call-up from Jurgen Klopp. The decisive moment was a match-winning goal. The only strike in Celtic’s 1-0 win away at St Johnstone.

Baur signed for Celtic from Paderborn in the summer. The deal was worth roughly £4 million, and he has quickly worked his way into the first-team picture. He turned 22 on 9 July. The St Johnstone winner underlined why Celtic moved so decisively to bring him to Glasgow. There is more background on the move in our full report on Mika Baur’s call-up.

Klopp took charge of Germany after their round of 32 exit at the 2026 World Cup, when Julian Nagelsmann left the post. His first squad announcement carried a clear signal. A place for a player with no senior caps who plies his trade in Scotland rather than the Bundesliga.

That decision says as much about Klopp’s methods as it does about Baur. A manager only three months into the job has already looked past reputation and straight at recent form.

The expert angle: Klopp’s faith in Celtic’s £4m playmaker

Speaking to the Daily Record, Klopp left little doubt about how highly he rates Baur. “I consider him really exciting. 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,” he said.

The Liverpool reference is worth noting. Klopp spent almost nine years on Merseyside and knows exactly how physical and relentless English and Scottish football can feel to a young continental player. Raising it with Baur personally, rather than leaving it to a scouting report, suggests a manager building his squad around players he rates rather than names he inherited.

The pattern of young talents forcing their way into senior contention this month is not confined to Germany. South Korea’s Yang Hyun-jun provided the assist in a 4-1 win over Qatar at the Asian Games. Afterwards, he spoke about the pressure on his generation to deliver. “I am still very upset with our results at the World Cup. I remain very frustrated about it. But the only way to try and make it up to our supporters is to win this Asian Cup. Bring back joy to the fans,” he said.

Where Baur has been rewarded with immediate senior recognition, Yang framed his own display as unfinished business. “Honestly, I wasn’t satisfied with my individual performance. I missed a lot of chances and I made too many mistakes more often than I expected, so I need to improve my concentration,” he said, adding that his team remained “fully capable of winning” if their concentration improved.

Both stories carry the same underlying message. Coaches are moving quickly to fold emerging players into senior squads once a difficult World Cup forces a reset. For Celtic, Baur’s call-up is independent confirmation that the £4million spent on him in the summer already looks like good business.

What happens next

Germany’s next fixtures fall in the Nations League, with matches against the Netherlands, Greece and Serbia. Those games give Klopp his clearest opportunity yet to assess Baur in a senior environment, rather than simply naming him and waiting.

Whether Baur gets on the pitch will depend on form and fitness closer to those matches, but his inclusion alone changes his profile. A player signed from the German second tier for £4million in the summer is now training and travelling with full internationals.

For Celtic, the timing is useful. Baur returns from international duty with senior recognition behind him, adding to the momentum built by his St Johnstone winner, and with no fitness concerns raised around the call-up so far.

The next marker for supporters to watch is simple: does Baur feature in Klopp’s matchday squads against the Netherlands, Greece or Serbia, and does his club form hold up once he is back in Glasgow.

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