Augsburg set to sign former West Ham target Arne Engels

Ronan Murphy

• Updated: 1 Jan 2023 17:22 GMT
• 2 min read

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Augsburg are set to sign teenage Belgian midfielder Arne Engels from Club NXT, FootballTransfers can confirm.

Reports in Germany have linked the 19-year-old with a move to the Bundesliga, and FootballTransfers has learned that these claims are accurate with the versatile midfielder set to leave Club Brugge's underage side.

Engels was West Ham target

Engels has six months left on his contract with Club Brugge and the Jupiler Pro League team want to cash in rather than lose him for free next summer.

West Ham wanted to sign Engels last summer following a string of impressive performances for Club NXT in the Belgian second tier, even making an offer for the Belgium Under-19 international.

Club Brugge rejected that bid, hoping to secure his long-term future to the club, but now look set to lose the midfielder to Augsburg.

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Engels is highly regarded in Belgium, having scored against both Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Youth League.

He was also handed the captain's armband at Club NXT, having worked his way up through the youth grades at Brugge from when he arrived at the club in 2014.

Engels' ability to play across the midfield makes him an attractive prospect for Augsburg, who currently have injuries to key midfielders Niklas Dorsch and Tobias Strobl.