Arne Engels has shared that Celtic had expressed interest in him well before his eventual transfer, with the club making initial contact with his agent six weeks prior to the closing of the transfer window.
This revelation came during his first press conference as a Celtic player, which CeltsAreHere attended following his early return from the Belgium national team camp.
The 20-year-old midfielder, who had just impressed on international duty with praise from teammate Kevin De Bruyne, found himself returning to Glasgow earlier than expected. His early return was due to accumulated yellow cards carrying over from the under-21 to the senior national team, providing him with the unexpected opportunity to spend additional time training at Lennoxtown.
He told CeltsAreHere: “It was 6 weeks before [the last week] that the club contacted my agent. They spoke a bit to each other.
“You need to wait and see how everything is going and how serious everything is. I was really happy that it came through.”
Engels’ move to Celtic, finalised on deadline day for a record £11 million, was evidently contingent on the departure of Matt O’Riley, who left for Brighton for a package worth up to £30 million.
The club clearly had a plan in place and was just waiting for some movement before they acted.
Engels has already made his debut for Celtic, coming off the bench in the Glasgow Derby earlier this month.
He has a lot of expectations to live up to at Celtic. Here’s hoping that he can do just that.
