Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has urged patience for £11m summer signing Arne Engels, believing he can blossom like Nicolas Kuhn and Paulo Bernardo.
The Belgium midfielder, 21, has scored three penalties in 16 appearances since joining from Augsburg in August.
Fellow midfielder Bernardo, 22, was on loan at Celtic from Benfica last season and winger Kuhn, 24, joined from Rapid Vienna in January. Kuhn has netted 11 times in 19 appearances this season.
“I know in life it is a challenge now for any of them, but I think the most recent example of that would be Paulo Bernardo,” said Rodgers.
“He was exactly the same, if I remember back, highlighting Paulo in his performances this time last year. Now he can’t be cheered on loud enough when he enters the pitch. That’s called development, it’s called patience, it’s called time.”
Rodgers added: “Arne is a fantastic young player. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have brought him here. He doesn’t set the price. He’s come here to a big club to improve his game. I’ve got absolutely no doubt he will do that.
“But, hopefully, I know it won’t be the case, but I would hope that people will learn their lesson. Seeing people that were writing off Paulo and Nicolas Kuhn and it’ll be Arne Engels, it’ll be someone else.
“Then you have to look and see and understand that development takes time. Some will hit the ground running and be fine and adapt, perfect. But not everyone is like that – and especially a young player.
“So I’ve been really pleased since he’s come in, because I know the future for him. He will improve, he will develop and get better. And we’ve seen it so many times. He’s such a young player with a lot of potential and that’s why we brought him here. He’s not the finished article.”
Rodgers, whose side host Ross County on Saturday, said “the scrutiny is on you” when players come to Celtic, who are the defending champions and current Scottish Premiership leaders.
“It’s always the pressure when you come to play up here,” he explained.
“You’re going to have your critics. Sometimes it’s deserved, sometimes it’s not. But either way, a lot of the time you don’t have the last word, but you do have your chance on the pitch to show what you can do.”