Nottingham Forest’s interest in Celtic midfielder Arne Engels has been relentlessly reported since their £25m bid was rejected in January.
The Belgian midfielder was the subject of intense transfer rumours with Forest desperate to engineer his Celtic exit just over six months ago.
But the Premier League club’s latest midfield move could now cool their interest in Engels and hand Celtic a major transfer boost.
Lots of interest in Arne Engels. But will he leave Celtic?
Name your price for Engels if he leaves…💰💰💰
Why the Forest move could help Celtic keep Arne Engels
Forest are set to sign Xaver Schlager after the Austrian midfielder rejected a new contract from RB Leipzig and interest from elsewhere in Europe.
The 55-cap international is a free agent since his contract with Leipzig ended and starred in this summer’s World Cup.
Now heading to Forest, that could end their interest in Engels but the story doesn’t end there.
Why Celtic cannot declare the Arne Engels story over
Schlager is not a direct alternative to Engels, but Forest are adding proven quality, leadership and experience to the same area of the team. That could make another attempt to meet Celtic’s valuation far less urgent.
RB Leipzig have now lost one of their first-team midfielders and that could now revive their interest in Engels.
The Celtic midfielder was on Leipzig’s radar just before the January transfer window but no bid ever materialised.
Forest may now have less reason to return for Engels, but Schlager’s Leipzig exit has ensured Celtic cannot relax just yet.
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