Martin O’Neill may have been talking about Nottingham Forest, but his comments revealed far more about Celtic’s long-term plan for Arne Engels than the Premier League club themselves.
The Celtic boss was asked about the possibility of Engels leaving Celtic this summer and his stance has softened from when Forest made a £25m bid in January.
At that time, O’Neill was adamant the Belgian was going nowhere. But now, it looks like the Hoops boss is preparing Celtic supporters for the possibility that Engels could attract an offer the club would seriously consider this summer.
Lots of interest in Arne Engels. But will he leave Celtic?
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Martin O’Neill’s Nottingham Forest comments expose Celtic’s Arne Engels plan
Speaking to The Herald from Celtic’s training camp in Portugal, O’Neill shared how Celtic are going to handle Engels’ transfer situation moving forward.
The Celtic manager said, “If, for instance, all those bids that Nottingham Forest made come in on the 11th hour – that was just a non-goer for us at that particular stage.
“So if some things can happen a bit earlier, then maybe there’s some resignation on my part.
“That’s part and parcel. And while we consider ourselves a big club, in terms of finance now, people can earn much, much more money elsewhere.”
That is the first time O’Neill has publicly acknowledged there could be circumstances where Engels leaves Celtic.
Back in January there was no discussion. Now, the conversation is no longer about whether he stays, but when Celtic would even entertain selling.
Martin O’Neill’s Celtic message on Arne Engels has changed
In January it was simple. O’Neill said Engels was not leaving under any circumstances. This summer, the picture has changed.
O’Neill is not shutting down any talk of an exit for Engels. Instead, the Celtic manager has now introduced scenarios of when he would be allowed to leave the club.
If the money is right, Celtic will listen. But that also doesn’t mean Engels is leaving.
In fact, it probably makes a summer exit less likely because clubs now know exactly what Celtic would expect.
If nobody arrives early with the kind of offer O’Neill has in mind, then Engels stays and remains the heartbeat of a side chasing another league title and a strong Champions League campaign.
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