“Hearts bullied Celtic”…“Engels hides,” – Chris Sutton

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The Celtic Star

·28 January 2026

“Hearts bullied Celtic”…“Engels hides,” – Chris Sutton

Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton has criticised Arne Engels for failing to make enough impact during the Hoops’ 2-2 stalemate with Hearts at Tynecastle…

Arne Engels of Celtic and Marc Leonard of Hearts contend for an aerial ball during the Scottish Premiership match between Hearts and Celtic at Tynecastle Park on January 25, 2026. (Photo by Zak Mauger/Getty Images)

The midfielder completed the entire match in the capital, even as the visitors were reduced to ten men after Auston Trusty was sent off in the second half.

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The display from Celtic’s midfield – featuring captain Callum McGregor alongside Engels and Benjamin Nygren – drew negative reaction in the aftermath, with questions raised over their influence as a three together.

Despite the struggles in the middle of the pitch, Martin O’Neill opted against making any substitutions, leaving Luke McCowan, Reo Hatate and Paulo Bernardo unused on the sidelines.

Speaking on the latest edition of The Warm-Up podcast, Sutton admitted he was unimpressed by Engels’ contribution and felt the Belgian international did not assert himself enough during the contest.

Sutton said: “I thought Hearts bullied Celtic. That would be a worry. Martin will be well aware of that. He will be working ferociously hard.”

“Engels hides, in my opinion. If you look at the way Hearts wanted Celtic to build, by leaving Trusty on the ball and nullifying McGregor – everybody has cottoned onto that. Nullify McGregor and Celtic have a problem – if Engels was hiding.”

In other news, Celtic have added Bodo/Glimt forward Kasper Hogh to their list of attacking targets as they consider possible reinforcements ahead of the transfer deadline next Monday.

The Hoops are understood to be assessing the 25-year-old’s availability, with Championship side Norwich City also tracking his situation.

Sky Sports indicate that Hogh’s profile has been discussed internally by Celtic’s scouting and recruitment staff, and there have been suggestions that enquiries may already have taken place.

Tomas Cvancara of Celtic crosses the ball during the Scottish Premiership match between Hearts and Celtic at Tynecastle on January 25, 2026. (Photo by Zak Mauger/Getty Images)

Forward Tomas Cvancara joined the club on a loan deal from Germany last week, while Johnny Kenny remains the only other natural striker due to Kelechi Iheanacho’s ongoing injury absence.

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And a quick reminder…

It’s the last few days of the Half Price January sale at Celtic Star Books. Every book ordered is now just £10 and p&p is only charged on the first book at £4.50. So ordering three books will cost a total of £34.50 and given you a £30 saving. Order at celticstarbooks.com/shop

All Books Now Half Price in the Celtic Star Books January Sale…

These books now available at at HALF PRICE in our January sale – click on image to order…

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Please note that p&p is priced at £4.50 is only charged on ONE book so you can buy as many of our books as you like and the postage cost will remain the same. Why not expand your Celtic library today?