Celtic have stood firm in their stance over Arne Engels after turning down a second bid from Nottingham Forest for the Belgian midfielder.
Following their initial £14 million offer on Sunday evening, Forest returned with an improved bid of £17.3 million on deadline day, but the answer from Celtic was the same: not for sale.
The Premier League side have been pushing hard to get a deal done, with Forest also aware that Engels has attracted Bundesliga interest in recent weeks.
However, Celtic made it clear to all parties that they have no intention of letting one of their key players leave mid-season, especially with the title race heating up and a Europa League knockout tie with Stuttgart on the horizon.
UPDATE: Celtic have rejected an improved offer of £17.3m from Nottingham Forest for midfielder Arne Engels. #CelticFC have told #NFFC that the Belgium international is not for sale in this window.#DeadlineDay https://t.co/AOfWAsicrt
— Anthony Joseph (@AnthonyRJoseph) February 2, 2026
Engels has been one of Celtic’s brightest performers in Europe this season, impressing against top-level opposition.
And while some fans have questioned his consistency in domestic fixtures, particularly after a quieter showing at Tynecastle, Martin O’Neill and his coaching staff view the Belgian as a key part of their plans going forward.
It’s also been reported that Engels himself is happy in Glasgow, enjoying life under O’Neill and focused on helping Celtic retain the league title.
Despite significant money being put on the table, the message from Celtic Park is that Arne Engels is not going anywhere this window.
Keep Reading
One Response
We should JUMP at the chance to get rid of this waste of space! I’d evan take the £0.3M! Never mind the £17.3M! I would be chewing their arms off!
He has proved to be the worst piece of transfer business we, (Rodgers) ever did!