While previewing Celtic's Scottish Premiership encounter with Hearts at the weekend, Callum McGregor heaped praise on new teammate Arne Engels.

The 21-year-old had already made his Celtic Park debut as a substitute against Rangers a few weeks earlier, and Engels would of course go on to both start at Parkhead on Saturday afternoon and score the game's opening goal from the spot.

As the club's all-time record incoming transfer, the Belgian midfielder has arrived in Glasgow with a degree of expectation saved for the biggest inductees to Scottish football.

But with a goal already under his belt, and now on the cusp of the new-look UEFA Champions League, as well as the domestic competitions Celtic aim to succeed in this campaign, Engels is in a great place to repay the Scottish champions on the pitch.

His captain McGregor certainly thinks so. He said: "Yeah, of course, Arne coming in is [a lift]. The sort of money that was spent, straight away everybody sits up and there's a big expectation.

"From what I've seen of him so far he looks like a top player, he has a brilliant attitude, has settled into the group really well, his training level's been excellent. So everybody's right to have that expectation."

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McGregor added: "But we have to be careful that we look after him as well and we don't just throw him in and it becomes a bit chaotic.

"He's a top player and will develop and get even better. When he comes into our group then our job as the lads is to look after him and let him feel his way in because we know we've got a top player there.

"It's just about bedding him in nicely and getting him going and I'm sure he'll repay that in spades."