West Ham have close to £150m to work with after player sales since relegation to the Championship on the final day of last season, and Arne Engels is now moving up their shortlist. The Celtic midfielder is still under contract, still wanted by other clubs and still not anywhere near a done deal. But the money gives West Ham a realistic route into a market that had not looked especially open a few months ago.

West Ham's rebuild

The scale of the rebuild is the starting point. West Ham finished 18th in the 2025 Premier League, then raised close to £150m through sales after relegation. That is the kind of cash that turns a passing link into something more concrete, especially for a club that needs midfield reinforcements rather than small tweaks.

Engels fits the profile because his Celtic numbers are solid without being flashy. He made 46 appearances across all competitions last season, scored 7 goals and provided 8 assists. He also completed 450 minutes across his last five matches, with a 6.94 average rating over that run. Celtic won all five of those games, so the move would not be about plucking him from a side in trouble.

Celtic's position on Engels

Engels has been careful publicly. Speaking to dailyrecord.co.uk, he said: "Yeah we will see. I still have a contract so we will see what happens. Firstly, I want to thank all the fans. They are just amazing. They helped us throughout all the season and to be there they have helped us to get the double. In the end we will see what happens in the summer. I am really happy here at Celtic. It's an unbelievable club. I'm really proud to represent Celtic."

That lines up with Celtic's own posture in the market. Michael Nicholson told Sky Sports that Celtic's transfer activity was proving difficult because they are competing with clubs in the Championship for targets. Engels has two years remaining on his contract, and Forest had multiple offers rejected for him on Deadline Day of the winter window, so there is no obvious reason for Celtic to move fast unless the price is right.

The clean read is that West Ham are serious, but not alone. Engels remains a live target, Celtic remain firm, and the next move will depend on how far West Ham push with their new spending power.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →