Jürgen Klopp Backs Mika Baur's Celtic Move for Germany Call-Up

Jürgen Klopp has hailed Mika Baur’s decision to swap the Bundesliga for Celtic as he rewarded the midfielder with a first senior Germany call-up.

The 22-year-old is one of the standout surprise names in Klopp’s opening squad selection, a mammoth 44-man pool split across two groups. One squad will face the Netherlands and Greece, the other is set to take on Serbia and Greece.

Baur has been named in the latter group and will join up with the national team from September 28.

Klopp, speaking to STV Sport, explained why the Celtic man had forced his way into the reckoning so quickly and revealed the pair had already spoken about the move to Glasgow.

“I consider him really exciting,” Klopp 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.”

It is a step Baur has handled with little fuss. Signed from newly-promoted Bundesliga side Paderborn for around £6 million in the summer, after being almost ever-present in their successful 2025/26 campaign, he has wasted no time making himself at home in Glasgow.

Under Martin O’Neill, Baur has quickly become a central figure. His form has been strong enough to keep experienced summer signing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain out of the starting XI in recent weeks, a statement in itself from a 22-year-old still adapting to a new league, a new club, a new city.

He underlined that impact earlier this month with a man-of-the-match display against St Johnstone, scoring the winner and driving Celtic’s midfield. Days later he went the full 90 minutes in the 3-0 Glasgow derby defeat at Ibrox, a harsh lesson but another marker of O’Neill’s trust in him on the biggest domestic stage.

Germany have already seen Baur at close quarters at youth level. He has featured for the under-21s alongside Said El Mala, Finn Jeltsch and Brajan Gruda – all three now joining him in receiving a senior nod from Klopp.

If Baur steps onto the pitch for Germany in the coming fixtures, he will follow in the footsteps of Andreas Thom and Andreas Hinkel, adding his name to the small but notable list of German internationals to have worn the Celtic shirt.