With the imminent sale of Matt O’Riley to Brighton, Celtic have plenty of work to do in the final week of the transfer window to improve Brendan Rodgers’ squad.
When O’Riley’s departure goes through the Bhoys will be weaker than they were at the end of last season.
Chris Sutton has lamented the current situation Celtic find themselves in, with fans and Rodgers also making noise about wanting to add quality before the deadline.
There’s still time to do the business needed and one player they’ve been monitoring is Augsburg midfielder Arne Engels.
Celtic begin negotiations to bring Engels to Glasgow
Sky Sports journalist Anthony Joseph reports that Celtic have now opened talks with the Bundesliga outfit to land Engels.
They are said to value him at as much as £9m but everyone knows that the Bhoys have the cash available to get that kind of deal done, especially with the sale of O’Riley which could reach as much as £30m.
It’s reported that Engels is open to move to Glasgow, with the lure of Champions League football a big carrot for prospective signings.
Engels is like-for-like to replace O’Riley at Celtic
Engels is not as far ahead in his development as O’Riley. Still just 20, he has made 52 appearances for Augsburg to date. He is in their team at home to Werder Bremen this afternoon.
The youngster may not be quite at the level of the departing Danish star but that was always going to be a tough ask for Celtic. There’s a reason O’Riley is moving for more than £25m.
Nonetheless, he would look to perform a similar role. He is an exciting, attack-minded talent who has an eye for goal and wants to create chances.
He’s been included in a recent Belgium international squad, too, earmarked to play a big role for his country moving forward. It’s a promising transfer link and hopefully the club can go on to conclude these talks.
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