Premier League Clubs Chase Celtic Star Arne Engels: Glasgow 2026

Key Points

• Fresh Transfer Tug-of-War: Nottingham Forest are poised to revive their pursuit of Celtic’s star midfielder Arne Engels with a second summer push, following a rejected £25 million package in the winter transfer window.
• Expanded Premier League Interest: Top-flight rivals Fulham and newly promoted or ambitious outfits like Sunderland are actively monitoring the 22-year-old Belgian international ahead of a potential bidding war.
• Continental Giants Monitoring: Beyond English interest, Serie A heavyweights AC Milan, Lazio, and Roma—the latter managed by Gian Piero Gasperini—are tracking Engels following his prominent performances in European competition.
• Player Demands Shift: Reports from Belgium indicate that Engels has recently joined the DWMA football agency and is eager to take the next step in his career away from Glasgow this summer.
• Valuation Expectations: Having cost Celtic a club-record £11 million to £11.5 million from Augsburg in August 2024, the Parkhead hierarchy expects any successful bid to comfortably exceed £25 million, potentially doubling their initial investment.
• Double-Winning Contribution: Despite battling a mid-season thigh injury that kept him out for seven consecutive matches, Engels returned to score crucial goals in Celtic’s Scottish Premiership title-clincher against Hearts and the Scottish Cup Final against Dunfermline.

Glasgow (Glasgow Express) June 9, 2026 – Scottish Premiership champions Celtic are bracing themselves for a major summer overhaul as European clubs begin circling Parkhead for their prized assets, with Belgian international midfielder Arne Engels at the centre of a mounting £25 million transfer tug-of-war.

Nottingham Forest are reportedly readying a fresh approach for the 22-year-old playmaker after seeing a substantial deadline-day package knocked back in the winter, whilst top-flight competitors Fulham and English Championship side Sunderland remain heavily engaged in monitoring his situation.

As reported by Anthony Joseph and Anton Toloui of Sky Sports, Nottingham Forest previously tested the resolve of the Celtic board in February with a third deadline-day bid rising to £25 million—structured as a guaranteed £20 million fee plus £5 million in performance-related add-ons.

Though the Parkhead hierarchy spent time mulling over that club-record offer, it was ultimately rebuffed due to a lack of immediate replacement options and the club’s determination to complete a domestic double. However, with the summer transfer window now opening and the player reportedly indicating a desire to move on, Celtic face an increasingly difficult battle to retain their star midfielder.

Will Nottingham Forest Launch an Improved Bid for Arne Engels?

The primary question dominating the sports pages in both Scotland and England is whether Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis will sanction the funds required to break Celtic’s resistance. Having previously failed with bids of £17.3 million and the eventual £25 million package, the East Midlands club has established Engels as a top priority to reinforce their central midfield options under Nuno Espírito Santo.

According to reports compiled by CQN Magazine, Nottingham Forest are poised to submit a renewed opening proposal for the summer window. The recruitment staff at the City Ground see the smooth-operating Belgian as the ideal progressive profile to elevate their transition play.

Having initially turned to Engels after a failed pursuit of Middlesbrough’s Hayden Hackney, Forest’s continued persistence signals that they view the Celtic man as a long-term foundational piece rather than a secondary alternative.

Which Other Clubs Are Competing for the Belgian International’s Signature?

While Nottingham Forest have laid the groundwork, they are far from alone in their pursuit. As disclosed by The Celtic Way, a wider bidding war is developing down south, with Fulham and Sunderland actively credited with an interest in the player.

Fulham are understood to be searching for technical dynamism in the engine room, while Sunderland’s data-driven recruitment model has long flagged Engels as an elite young talent with substantial resale value.

The race has also spilled over into continental Europe. Writing for Celtic Shorts, journalist Paul Gillespie noted that Italian Serie A giants AC Milan and Lazio have entered the frame. Furthermore, Roma manager Gian Piero Gasperini is understood to be a long-standing admirer of the Belgian playmaker.

Gasperini’s side faced Celtic in the UEFA Europa League during the campaign, providing the Italian tactician with a first-hand view of Engels’ tactical discipline and physical output. It is reported by Football Italia that Gasperini has made no secret of his desire to bring the player to the Stadio Olimpico.

What Is Arne Engels’ Stance on His Parkhead Future?

A critical catalyst for this summer’s unfolding drama is the player’s own career planning. As revealed by prominent Belgian transfer journalist Sacha Tavolieri, Engels has recently changed representation, partnering with the DWMA football agency.

Tavolieri reported via social media that the “Belgian Red Devil wants to take the next step in his career after Celtic FC” and is actively looking to test himself in a top-five European league.

Engels still has two years remaining on the contract he signed when arriving from Bundesliga outfit Augsburg for a club-record £11 million to £11.5 million in August 2024.

While he has publicly shown respect to the Parkhead faithful, the structural shift in his agency representation indicates a coordinated effort to facilitate a high-profile transfer during the current window.

How Did Engels Perform During Celtic’s Double-Winning Campaign?

Despite a season interrupted by physical setbacks, Engels proved indispensable to Celtic’s domestic dominance.

The midfielder missed seven consecutive matches after the turn of the year due to a troublesome thigh injury, which temporarily stalled his momentum and impacted Celtic’s midfield fluidity during the winter months.

However, his return to fitness coincided with the defining moments of the season. As recorded by Celtic Quick News, Engels finished the campaign with strong statistics, featuring prominently across the club’s domestic and European fixtures.

He proved his big-game temperament by netting a crucial penalty-kick during the 3-1 victory over Hearts at Parkhead to seal the Scottish Premiership title. Just one week later at Hampden Park, Engels thumped home a spectacular second goal in a 3-1 victory over Neil Lennon’s Dunfermline to secure the Scottish Cup. For many analysts, that emphatic strike at Hampden is increasingly looking like the player’s parting shot in a green and white shirt.

Background of the Particular Development

To understand why Celtic are demanding such a premium for Arne Engels, one must look at the club’s established player-trading model and their recent managerial transitions. Engels was signed in the summer of 2024 under the stewardship of Brendan Rodgers, who identified the young Belgian as a vital component for competing on the European stage.

Following subsequent managerial changes that led to Martin O’Neill taking the reins at Parkhead, Engels retained his status as the crown jewel of the midfield.

During the January window, O’Neill publicly urged the Celtic board to resist all financial temptations, joking to the press that the board should only intervene if an absurd offer approaching £100 million was received. The club’s rigid stance in January was dictated by sporting necessity;

they lacked a viable replacement and were locked in a tight title race. With the league trophy and Scottish Cup safely secured, and with a new permanent managerial appointment expected to be finalized this week to dictate the club’s long-term vision, Celtic are now in a far more stable position to negotiate a highly lucrative sale.

The club has a historical precedent for generating record-breaking fees from English clubs, having previously extracted premium prices for stars like Moussa Dembélé, Kieran Tierney, and Matt O’Riley.

Prediction: How This Development Can Affect Celtic Supporters and the First-Team Squad

Should this £25 million-plus transfer materialize, it will trigger a profound chain reaction for Celtic supporters and the structural makeup of the first-team squad. For the fans, the departure of a technical fan-favourite like Engels will inevitably fuel anxieties regarding the club’s perceived glass ceiling in Europe.

Supporters have frequently questioned the long-term sustainability of a model that sells its finest assets as soon as elite clubs show interest, worried that a continuous “rinse and repeat” cycle prevents the team from ever building a stable core capable of progressing deep into the UEFA Champions League.

For the squad itself, an exit would create an immediate void in terms of goals, assists, and set-piece execution. However, from a financial perspective, a sale exceeding £25 million would hand the incoming manager an unprecedented transfer war chest.

If the board reinvests the entirety of these funds into the playing squad, Celtic could realistically acquire three to four top-tier profiles to modernise their squad depth. Conversely, if the replacement recruitment stalls, the mid-tier gap between Celtic and their domestic rivals could narrow, turning the upcoming Premiership defense into a far more volatile campaign.