Celtic hold firm on £25m Engels valuation amid 14-player exodus
Celtic are fighting to retain their remaining key assets after losing 14 players this summer, demanding £25m for midfielder Arne Engels amid Premier League interest.
Celtic manager Martin O'Neill is scrambling to halt a severe talent drain after confirming 14 players have departed the club this summer. The Scottish Premiership titleholders now face a race to retain their remaining core assets against sustained interest from English Premier League clubs.
The most immediate pressure point is Belgian midfielder Arne Engels. West Ham have entered talks to sign the player, but Celtic are holding out for a £25m fee. O'Neill revealed an offer had been submitted but stressed it did not "remotely meet our valuation". Nottingham Forest also failed in an attempt to sign Engels in January.
Right-back Alistair Johnston is another asset attracting attention after an impressive World Cup campaign with Canada. O'Neill disclosed that Everton manager David Moyes had personally called him to signal Everton's interest. "I'm not sure whether there has been a bid in for that one," O'Neill noted.
The lopsided nature of Celtic's transfer activity underscores the financial imbalance between the Scottish and English top flights. The club has lost key players including Daizen Maeda to Ipswich and Kelechi Iheanacho to Bursaspor, alongside several high-profile loan ends.
To compensate, Celtic have signed forwards Camilo Duran and Kasper Hogh, with the latter arriving for a club record fee. O'Neill suggested he may need to alter his tactical setup to play both forwards simultaneously, given Duran's versatility on the wing or just off the striker.
Celtic are also monitoring the wider market and are considering a move for Frosinone winger Fares Ghedjemis. The 23-year-old Algerian international scored 15 goals last season to help Frosinone secure promotion to Serie A, drawing interest from clubs in Italy, England and the US. Celtic's Glasgow rivals Rangers are also targeting Ghedjemis, alongside Coventry City's Jahnoah Markelo, Brighton's Amario Cozier-Duberry and Vaclav Cerny, though Cerny's wages at Besiktas pose an obstacle.
O'Neill remains acutely aware of the difficulty of rebuilding on the fly. "Now that you say 14 I'm worried myself," he admitted. "You have to try and do your best to balance everything... That's utopia. Unfortunately, that's not real life."
