Former Celtic star Charlie Mulgrew has questioned whether Arne Engels should be considering a move to West Ham, with the midfielder attracting interest from the Championship club.
Engels played the full 90 minutes as Celtic thumped Kilmarnock 5-1, maintaining their 100% start to the season with their most convincing performance so far.
The Belgian was involved almost immediately. Kieran Tierney found Engels down the left and his cross was met by Kasper Hogh, who headed the Hoops in front after just 63 seconds.
Hogh had to wait until the half-hour mark for his second, then completed his hat-trick two minutes later.
Speaking on The Breakdown podcast alongside Kevin Thomson, Mulgrew was impressed by the striker’s work inside the box.
“I’m really happy for big Hogh. It’s simple finishes but it’s him being in that area.”
Engels deserved plenty of credit too.
It was one of his strongest displays in a Celtic shirt, with the midfielder sharp in possession and heavily involved in their attacking play.
He should probably have finished with another assist late on after an outstanding outside-of-the-boot pass sent James Forrest through.
Thomson was particularly impressed by the 22-year-old.
“I thought Engels was top drawer. He will go for big money”, he said.
The question now is where that big money might come from.
West Ham have shown interest in Engels as they target an immediate return to the Premier League, but Mulgrew is not convinced dropping into England’s second tier makes sense for the Belgian.
“No disrespect, a big club, West Ham, but the Championship? He’s better than that, isn’t he?”
It is a fair point raised. The Celts already showed how highly they value the midfielder when they rejected a Nottingham Forest bid worth up to £25 million in January.
A West Ham offer around that level would seriously test Celtic’s resolve, particularly given the money involved.
There is also the timing to consider. Engels spoke with assistant manager Shaun Maloney on the eve of the Kilmarnock game and was determined to deliver despite the transfer speculation surrounding him. His response was emphatic.
Rather than looking distracted, he produced one of his best Celtic performances.
The speculation is unlikely to disappear, especially if West Ham decide to return with an improved bid.
Celtic, though, have a Champions League play-off against LASK coming up next week.
Selling Engels for major money is one decision – doing it so close to two matches carrying huge sporting and financial consequences is another entirely.
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2 responses
If we can manage to persuade them to commit for another season (which they are more than contracted to), we could enhance their current contract with, say, an extra £5k per week on top of their current deal. It would only take half a million and would defer finding cover until 2027. I’m sure if we take care of LASK then they’d have at least 8 games in the CL, maybe more, and 3 Glasgow derbies (maybe 4 if the huns make it into the top six). How many BIG games will they have at Everton? Two derbies, at West Ham? None.
Their agents should be asking their players what really matters, money or higher standard of football?
I certainly think Champions League football, assuming Celtic make it through the qualifier, will be far more beneficial to Engels in terms of experience than moving to England’s Championship. He should hang off and wait for a team from one of the major European leagues to come calling, which they certainly will if he continues to develop.