Germany boss Jurgen Klopp reveals Mika Baur phone call after Celtic move

Jurgen Klopp has praised Mika Baur for taking on the challenge of joining Celtic after handing the midfielder his first senior Germany call-up.

The 22-year-old was one of the surprise inclusions in Klopp’s first squad selection, with the former Liverpool boss naming an enormous 44-player group split across two squads.

The first will face the Netherlands and Greece, while the second is scheduled to take on Serbia and Greece.

Baur has been selected for the latter group and will link up with the German set-up from September 28.

Explaining his decision to reward the Celtic midfielder, Klopp revealed the pair have already spoken about Baur’s move to Glasgow.

He said via STV Sport: “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.”

Baur joined Celtic from newly-promoted Bundesliga side Paderborn for around £6million during the summer after being almost ever-present throughout their successful 2025/26 campaign.

The midfielder has quickly established himself under Martin O’Neill and has recently kept experienced summer arrival Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain out of the starting XI.

Baur was named man of the match after scoring the winner against St Johnstone earlier this month before completing the full 90 minutes in Celtic’s 3-0 Glasgow Derby defeat at Ibrox.

He has previously represented Germany at under-21 level alongside Said El Mala, Finn Jeltsch and Brajan Gruda, with all three also receiving call-ups from Klopp.

Should Baur make his senior debut, he could join former Hoops Andreas Thom and Andreas Hinkel among the German internationals to have played for Celtic.