EXCLUSIVE: Augsburg set to reject Celtic's opening Engels bid

Ronan Murphy

Updated: 26 Aug 2024 04:07 CDT
2 min read

Celtic have made an opening offer for Augsburg midfielder Arne Engels, but have fallen short of the Bundesliga club's valuation for the Belgian wonderkid, Football Transfers understands.

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As revealed exclusively earlier this month, Engels is the top priority for Brendan Rodgers' side, as the Scottish champions are set to sell Matt O'Riley to Brighton.

The Bhoys are expected to receive a £25 million fee for O'Riley, a record sale for a Scottish club, which would then be reinvested in Engels.

EXCLUSIVE: Celtic make Bundesliga wonderkid Arne Engels top priority

Celtic submitted a bid for Engels on Sunday evening, believed to be around £6.5m, but this is lower than Augsburg are willing to sell for, and negotiations between the clubs will have to continue to find a solution.

The 20-year-old midfielder has already agreed personal terms with Celtic, so that will not prove a stumbling block for the deal.

Arne Engels to Celtic?

Many Bhoys fans were concerned that a transfer might fall through when Engels was named in FCA's opening league fixture against Werder Bremen at the weekend, helping Ausgburg record a 2-2 draw with a strong showing in midfield.

However, Augsburg head coach Jess Thorup was simply picking his strongest XI for the Bundesliga opener, and wanted to utilise Engels in the hope that any transfer speculation would not impact his performance.

Current ETV

Arne Engels

M (C)

Augsburg

Arne Engels

M (C)

Augsburg

ETV Range

€7.1M - €11.9M

Engels had been linked with a move to West Ham in the past before he decided to join Augsburg from Club Brugge, having been one of the star performers in their academy sides.

His performances in the Bundesliga for the Bavarian side also did not go unnoticed by Belgium manager Domenico Tedesco, who called him into the international camp before Euro 2024 to cast an eye over him as he looked to select the 26 players to travel to Germany with the Red Devils.

Should a deal be reached before Deadline Day, Engels would be Celtic's second major signing in as many weeks, having already broken their club transfer record to sign Ireland international striker Adam Idah from Norwich for £8.5m.