German midfielder Mika Baur is over the moon to be finally in Glasgow after Paderborn eventually accepted a deal
Celtic’s new no22(Image: Stuart Wallace/Shutterstock)
One minute, Mika Baur was quietly enjoying his summer.
The next, his phone exploded and his name was trending all over Glasgow.
The midfielder couldn’t believe his eyes when Fabrizio Romano broke the news to his 29 million followers on X that the German had agreed terms with Celtic.
A three-week transfer chase followed, with Paderborn playing hardball over their star man’s asking price.
But a breakthrough in talks this week finally saw the 22-year-old pitch up at Parkhead in a £6.8million deal.
Now, Baur has revealed exactly what it was like to watch his Hoops move blow up on social media before the deal was even over the line.
Asked transfer guru Romano’s tweet sent his phone into meltdown, Baur laughed: “Yeah, it did. I just went to lunch with my girlfriend. I follow him, so I saw it on his Instagram and then my phone was ringing all the time!
“The first call or the first meeting was a couple of weeks before, but it was not like, okay, it will happen.
“It was the first call, it was the first meeting. But then during the weeks until the post of him, it was getting closer and closer.
“It has been a long time now. It was ups and downs, but I think at the end everyone did an incredible job that it’s finally done and it can happen.
“It’s great that it’s finally over the line. I had two training sessions with the team, so it feels incredible.
“I think everybody knows about Celtic, about the size of the club, about the crowd, about the Champions League nights, about how the style of playing football is here.
“At the first I heard of it, I was like, I want to do that. So yeah, just positive.’
“I spoke with the coaches. I also spoke mostly with Fozzy because he can speak German.
“The coaches are really nice, really supportive. They try to make sure I can feel comfortable here, but also the team is really making it easy for me. So, yeah, it’s a cool atmosphere.”
Baur shares the same agent – ex-Rangers star Christian Nerlinger – as former Celtic hero Nicolas Kuhn.
And the playmaker revealed he picked the brains of Kuhn – who joined Como last summer – about life with the Scottish champions.
He said: “You can’t imagine if you’re living in Germany and you never had something to do with Scottish people.
“Nicolas said, ‘Everyone is so nice, everyone is helping you to feel comfortable. Also here in the club, everyone wants you to feel good, to feel happy. Also your family.’
“I think he had a great time here. That’s what he just told me.”
Kuhn was sensational during his one full season at Parkhead and ran riot in the Champions League.
The electric winger notched a double against RB Leipzig before scoring away to Bayern Munich in the knockouts.
Now Baur wants to replicate his fellow countryman’s European heroics if the Celts can find a way past PAOK.
He said: ”I watched the matches of Nicolas. I know that he did good against the German teams.
“Let’s qualify and play again in Germany. Why not?
“I’ve never experienced something like that before. I’m really looking forward to Wednesday.
“Everyone is telling me it will be great. It will be a big night. We’ll see on Monday.
“I’m really happy that I can experience that.
“It’s a big stage. It’s the one every kid wants to play. Everyone is watching it.”
Baur has been capped at every youth level for Germany all the way up to Under-21s.
The rising star dreams of playing for his country and reckons Celtic can give him the platform to land a dream senior call-up.
He said: “Why not? Yeah, why not? It’s a big stage, so we’ll see.
“Would it be my ultimate dream? Yeah, for sure, to represent your country. For now, I’m looking forward to getting a good time here.
“And then under-21 European Championship is next year. I’m a guy that looks really step by step and not the big thing yet.”
Having climbed his way through the lower leagues in Germany, Baur insists he’s ready to make the step up at Celtic.
He said: “Yeah, it was really step by step. I played in Freiburg in the youth, so it was a high level.
“Then it was the third division to the second division, then I had a tough year where I really learned a lot.
“I was 17 when I did my first experience in the third division. I’m not quite sure, but over 80 or 90 matches.
“It’s a really tough league too. Big guys, many in fights. It’s part of the game to develop in terms of physical and everything.
“I think it was good for me to play that. It really was the first step, then the second division, and now the big stage.”
And Baur won’t be making the move to Glasgow alone.
His girlfriend Emma and beloved dog Karl are also upping sticks for Scotland to help him settle quickly.
Baur added: “Yeah, they will. My girlfriend is still here – or is here with me now at the moment. We’re looking for an apartment and feel comfortable.
“Then we take our dog from Germany to here. Our little dog is like our child at the moment!”
