Celtic dragging heels over Mika Baur transfer fee

Celtic dragging heels over Mika Baur transfer fee

Celtic are still dragging their heels on the potential fee for SC Paderborn midfielder Mika Baur but the German club won’t be lowering their price anytime soon…

Laurin Curda of SC Paderborn (R) celebrates the first goal with Mika Baur of SC Paderborn (L) during the 2. Bundesliga match between SC Paderborn 07 and FC Schalke 04 at Benteler Arena on April 26, 2026 in Paderborn, Germany. (Photo by Christof Koepsel/Getty Images)

The German U21 star had thought to have agreed terms with the Hoops according to multiple reports, but that doesn’t mean that Paderborn are up for selling their asset below market value.

Martin O’Neill is reportedly on the brink of securing big deals for Bodø/Glimt’s Kasper Høgh and hopefully Real Oviedo and Egyptian World Cup star Haissem Hassan .

Should the boss get those two deals over the line, it would certainly be a promising, if not late, start to transfer business this summer as we look to retain our Scottish Premiership title and make a mark in the UEFA Champions League.

Financial roadblock over relative small sum frustrating Baur’s Celtic move

22-year-old Baur though was thought to be the one who would be next through the door at Celtic Park after £5 million striker Camilo Duran . That now looks like being Kasper Hogh with Martin O’Neill confirming that the Danish striker is set for a medical ahead of a record breaking £12m transfer to Celtic.

Mika Baur of SC Paderborn reacts during the 2. Bundesliga match between SV 07 Elversberg and SC Paderborn 07 at Ursapharm-Arena on May 03, 2026 in Spiesen-Elversberg, Germany. (Photo by Alex Grimm/Getty Images)

Daizen Maeda’s move to Ipswich Town seems to have kick-started Celtic into action

There has been a frustrating gap since the Colombian goalscorer arrived in early July but nothing else of note has been done apart from that one until the news broke yesterday that a deal with Bodo Glimt had been done following the £10m transfer of Daizen Maeda to Premier League newbies Ipswich Town.

That delay left the Celtic fans understandably irked and frustrated at the pace at which the Celtic Board try and conduct transfer business regarding incoming signings.

Deluxe Arena, 25 05 26, Germany, Herren, 2026, SC Paderborn 07 VfL Wolfsburg Bild Mika BAUR Paderborn. DFL. Photo IMAGO / Ulrich Hufnagel

Despite the great news on substantial progress being made on bringing Kasper Hogh to Paradise, there is still a roadblock in the deal to bring in German midfielder Mika Baur who remains no closer to becoming a Celtic player.

Paderborn’s Sporting Director has his say

Indeed Paderborn’s Sporting Director, Sebastian Lange, has described recent stories as “nonsense” , in another disappointing update from Germany for the Celtic support.

“It’s nonsense. I have no idea where this stuff comes from,” the Paderborn chief stated abruptly to NW Sport .

“Have there been offers for players during this transfer window? Yes. Are there offers right now? No. Why not? Because we rejected them all. There are sporting and financial reasons for this.

“Ultimately, we decide what is of interest to us. And everything that came in was, from a financial standpoint, of no interest to us whatsoever,” Lange said firmly, regretting any lowball attempts from wherever they are coming from.

“I don’t want to name names, because I don’t want to spoil the market for one or two of them”

When asked more directly about the rejected offers for players, he replied: “We didn’t have to think twice during this transfer window. There are a few players (we have received offers for). And that’s nothing unusual. There were even players involved whom you wouldn’t expect. Four to five. That includes players from the U21 squad. It’s not as if we have offers for four key players.

“I don’t want to name names, because I don’t want to spoil the market for one or two of them,” he continued.

Paderborn, Home Deluxe Arena, 25.05.26, GER, Herren, R, SC Paderborn 07 – VfL Wolfsburg Bild: Mika BAUR Paderborn DFL . Photo IMAGO / Ulrich Hufnagel

“For SCP, the transfer fee alone isn’t the deciding factor anyway; rather, a transfer has to make sense both financially and in sporting terms. We have a squad valuation that we calculate internally using a specific formula. There is a sporting value and a financial value.

“The question is: How important is the player to us, and can we actually strengthen the squad? Because only then does it really make sense to let a player go.

“We want to improve. It’s independent of any departures”

“We want to improve. It’s independent of any departures. We want to strengthen the squad either way. And, ideally, keep all the players — or almost all of them,” the bullish sporting director claimed.

In an ominous warning to Celtic and other potential suitors, Lange added: “We are no longer operating at a loss. We aim to finish the Bundesliga season with a profit, too. We are no longer dependent on transfer revenue like we were in the 2. Bundesliga.

Mika Baur of Germany in action during the UEFA Under21 EURO Qualifier between Germany U21 and Northern Ireland U21 at Eintracht Stadion on March 27, 2026 in Braunschweig, Germany. (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

“We can work with different figures. Our job remains to stay calm. But we are certainly noticing right now that the transfer rumour mill is starting to heat up. And that’s only going to increase. We have a long, intense period ahead of us.”

If Celtic want to sign Mika Baur, then they will have to cough up what his club value him at, in terms of transfer fee.

Paderborn have now confirmed they have no need to sell and previously briefed the media in Germany that they would rather lose him for nothing at the end of this coming season, as opposed to accept an offer which doesn’t reflect his value to the newly-promoted Bundesliga club.

Any attempt to chip away at the price on this one is going to be futile. The roadblock was around £250...

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