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

Jurgen Klopp has hailed Mika Baur’s decision to swap the Bundesliga for Glasgow as he handed the Celtic midfielder his first senior Germany call-up.

The 22-year-old is one of the eye-catching names in Klopp’s debut squad, a sprawling 44-man selection split across two groups. One will face the Netherlands and Greece. The other, which includes Baur, is set to take on Serbia and Greece, with the Celtic man due to link up with the national set-up from September 28.

Klopp, speaking to STV Sport, made it clear this wasn’t a token inclusion.

“I consider him really exciting,” he said. “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 £6 million summer move from newly-promoted Bundesliga side Paderborn to Celtic, off the back of a 2025/26 campaign in which Baur was almost ever-present in their rise. He has wasted little time convincing Martin O’Neill.

Baur has already forced his way into the heart of Celtic’s midfield and, notably, has kept experienced summer signing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain out of the starting XI in recent weeks. He underlined that status with a man-of-the-match display and the winning goal against St Johnstone earlier this month.

There was a harsher lesson days later as he played the full 90 minutes in Celtic’s 3-0 Glasgow Derby defeat at Ibrox, but his performance levels and willingness to shoulder responsibility have clearly caught Klopp’s eye.

Baur’s elevation continues a pathway from Germany’s youth ranks. He has previously featured for the under-21s alongside Said El Mala, Finn Jeltsch and Brajan Gruda, all three of whom have also been promoted into Klopp’s first senior squads.

If Baur does make his debut in the coming fixtures, he will step into a small but notable group: German internationals who have worn the Celtic shirt, following in the footsteps of Andreas Thom and Andreas Hinkel.