Overview
- Sky Sports reported on Thursday that Celtic have signed Germany U21 midfielder Mika Baur on an initial four‑year contract for roughly £6.8m, structured as about £4.5m up front with £2.3m in add‑ons.
- SC Paderborn granted Baur permission to miss training to hold transfer talks and coach Ralf Kettemann said he expected the player to leave after the clubs reached a compromise on the fee.
- Negotiations had stalled for weeks over valuation with Celtic’s early offers near €4.7m and Paderborn holding out for more, but multiple outlets say both sides moved to an agreement in recent days.
- Baur, a former SC Freiburg youth player who joined Paderborn in June 2024 for around €500,000 and spent a loan spell at Dynamo Dresden, was Paderborn’s player of the season and is seen as a technical, versatile playmaker.
- The deal gives Celtic a midfield option they can register for the Champions League playoff and hands Paderborn a sizeable profit to help prepare for their return to the Bundesliga.