Celtic were brave to reject big bids for Arne Engels in January.
In the end, Celtic did the right thing by keeping Engels on board, despite Nottingham Forest pushing towards £25 million when trying to secure his services.
But with the 2026 summer transfer window now open, it seems inevitable that the 22-year-old will head for the exit door.
What makes Engels’ transfer situation particularly intriguing is the sheer calibre of clubs seemingly tracking the Celtic midfielder.
According to Voetbalkrant, heavyweight sides from across Europe, including Borussia Dortmund, RB Leipzig, and Lazio, are all reportedly circling for his signature.
Pick one player to sell for ‘£20m’ this summer. Engels or Nygren?
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Arne Engels wants his future sorted before returning to pre-season with Celtic
With Celtic’s non-World Cup contingent set to report back to Lennoxtown this Friday, Voetbalkrant suggests that Engels is actively pushing to have his future at the club resolved before then.
However, the realism of Celtic’s club-record transfer making such a big move before the weekend has to be questioned.
Given that Celtic are currently struggling even to organise Martin O’Neill’s backroom staff, facilitating a high-profile departure for a key starter feels like a rather tall order.
Nonetheless, it has been suggested that Engels’ estimated transfer value sits around £17 million, but those in the Parkhead boardroom will demand more.
Celtic’s highest-ever transfer sales
Whatever you think of the Celtic board, one thing they do right is buy cheap and then sell on that individual for a healthy profit.
That was proven even last summer when Nicolas Kuhn joined Como for £16.5 million, just 18 months after moving to Glasgow for £3 million.
And the German winger makes Celtic’s top five highest ever transfer sales:
- Nicolas Kuhn to Como for £16.5m
- Moussa Dembele to Olympique Lyonnais for £20m
- Kieran Tierney to Arsenal for £25m
- Jota to Al-Ittihad for £25m
- Matt O’Riley to Brighton for £26m
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