Celtic's transfer resolve set to be tested again as clubs circle - but it's complicated for one suitor
Three EPL sides credited with interest in Belgian midfielder
Celtic midfielder Arne Engels remains in demand, with three English Premier League clubs stepping up their interest in the Belgian.
Nottingham Forest, Sunderland and Fulham are reportedly weighing up bids for Engels, who joined Celtic two summers ago from German side Augsburg for club record fee in the region of £12 million.
Engels ended this season strongly as he helped Celtic win the Premiership and the Scottish Cup. He was subject of multiple failed bids from Forest in the winter transfer window - the largest believed to total £25m when add-ons are included - and the City Ground outfit are prepared to come back in for the player, who has been capped four times by Belgium.
Sunderland and Fulham are also in the market for a new central midfielder and have monitored Engels’ progress all term. Fulham’s situation is more complicated after manager Marco Silva left at the end of the season.
Engels is contracted to Celtic until the summer of 2028 and missed out on a place in Belgium’s World Cup squad. He endured a testing 2025/26 campaign when he first fell out of favour under previous manager Brendan Rodgers and then missed a month of the season with a thigh injury.
However, he became a regular fixture under double-winning boss Martin O’Neill - who has agreed to return to the Celtic Park hotseat next season.
O’Neill praised the Celtic hierarchy back in February for resisting bids for Engels and revealed that the player had not been agitating for a move. Nevertheless, the Northern Irish head coach may need to deal with a number of players who could head for the exit door.
Talismanic forward Daizen Maeda was close to leaving last season and is set to make a call on his future after the World Cup, while Benjamin Nygren - also playing at the finals - has admirers after a strong first season in Glasgow.
One player who is set to depart Celtic is defender Stephen Welsh, who is reported to have agreed terms with English Championship side Swansea City.
Welsh, 26, is a Celtic academy graduate, but spent last season on loan at Motherwell and is keen for first-team football. He is poised to end a long association with his boyhood club.
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