This afternoon Celtic announced the arrival of the midfielder from Paderborn.
Baur was one of the driving forces in Paderborn’s promotion winning season but won’t be around for their Bundesliga return.
Frabrizio Romamo broke the news on July 21 that personal terms had been agreed with the player.
News from Germany on Wednesday suggested that agreement had been reached between the clubs.
Baur was at Lennoxtown today, joining new team-mates including Kasper Hogh, Camilo Duran and Haissem Hassan.
I am delighted that we have been able to bring Mika to Celtic.
He is a player with some excellent attributes, great technical ability, he will be important in linking our play and he has real versatility too.
Having spoken to Mika, I can see the appetite he has for the challenges here at Celtic and I am sure he will be another great addition to the squad. Â
Mika’s club in Germany were very keen to keep him, which I fully understand, as he played such an important role in their Bundesliga promotion, but I am really pleased with the perseverance and commitment we have shown to secure his signing.
Baur can go straight into Celtic’s Champions League squad which gets registered tonight with UEFA.
With the start of the Bundesliga season not scheduled until the end of August Baur is likely to be behind his new team-mates in terms of fitness.
CELTIC STRENGTHEN UP IN MIDFIELD
Getting involved against Dundee United on Saturday looks like a stretch.
With additional substitutes and four extra days it seems realistic to expect Baur to feature against LASK.
Celtic’s midfield options are expected to be changeable over the remainder of the transfer window.
Arne Engels, Ben Nygren and Reo Hatate have been strongly linked with moving out. From last season’s squad Paulo Bernardo has left for a season on loan at Gornik Zabrze.
Over two matches Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has yet to play any minutes with Baur expected to be in ahead of the former Liverpool man.
After signing just two players in over two months the Champions League deadline seems to have brought focus to Celtic’s activities.
There is another deadline on August 18 at 11pm to make two changes to the squad. However changes the day before a Champions League Play Off come with high risks attached.
With four signings completed O’Neill will be looking for further arrivals before the window closes on September 3.
I’m drooling over Hogh and Duran along with Hassan feeding them. Could turn out to be the best Strikers since Larson, Sutton and Hartson, (but maybe not quite that level) but time will tell. Looks like MON will not play the ball possession obsession that resulted in Brendan’s teams playing a million miles from the Celtic Way. The backwards and sideways for no reason may now stop. I do appreciate Brendan’s trophies but the entertainment was not alway the best on a cold Saturday afternoon, watched some really boring pish games retaining possession and creating very little chances. I would not like to see him back. The board got it in the neck rightly, but things on the field are starting to look better, especially if we get another couple in