Jurgen Klopp admires Celtic star for 'challenging step' in the summer window amid shock career development

Celtic midfielder Mika Baur has been praised by German National Team coach Jurgen Klopp after receiving his first ever international call-up.

The 22-year old helped Paderborn to promotion from Bundesliga 2 last season and was rewarded with a £6.8m transfer to Celtic. After impressing in his opening eight games for the Hoops, he has now caught the eye of new Die Mannschaft mentor Klopp ahead of their Nations League run of fixtures in the coming weeks.

The Liverpool legend named two separate squads for the extended international break. Baur will play no part in their opening two fixtures against Greece and the Netherlands, but will be available for subsequent clashes against Serbia on October 1 and the Greece return fixture on October 4.

Klopp on Baur’s first Germany call-up

Baur will now become the first Celtic player since Andreas Hinkel in 2009 to be called up for Germany. Upon enlisting the Hoops midfielder, Klopp explained his reason for the decision. He said: "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."

Having represented Germany at almost every youth level - including the Under-21s as recent as March - the natural progression for Baur is to make the step up to the first team. However, given the wealth of world class player currently in the roster, it is an enormous achievement for the 22-year old to be given a chance at this age.

Also in the squad for his batch of fixtures is Liverpool midfielder Florian Wirtz and Barcelona superstar Karem Adeyimi. Meanwhile in-form stars such as Brighton midfielder Pascal Gross and Stuttgart striker Denis Undav haven’t made the cut.

Baur part of German ‘fresh start’

Germany aren’t quite the international superpower they used to be and have been on a steady decline since their 2014 World Cup victory. Klopp replaced Julian Nagelsmann as coach in August after they were knocked out of the 2026 tournament by Paraguay on penalties in the round of 32. The new gaffer has a wealth of experience from his Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool days at club level. He intends to put his own stamp on National Team matters and won’t be afraid to try new things.

After the squad announcement, he added: “The ones who will play are the ones who are good enough. The ones who are hungry. The ones who become even better when they put on the Germany shirt. It’s not enough for players to say they’re proud to represent Germany. They have to show it. Everyone who is eligible to play for Germany should make the effort. I’ll be watching them. My door is open. Today is a fresh start. I’ll be watching a lot of matches in Germany, but also abroad to monitor players who are in contention.”

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