Celtic have rejected Nottingham Forest’s third offer worth up to £25m for midfielder Arne Engels.
The Premier League club wanted to pay Engels a guaranteed fee of £20m, along with a further £5m.
Celtic considered signing him a club-record contract but ultimately declined the offer. They previously rejected Forest’s first two bids for the 22-year-old, with their last offer being £17.3m.
Celtic have no plans to let Engel go in this period, with manager Martin O’Neill saying on Sunday that he hoped the club would reject any offer.
Engels signed for £11 million from Augsburg in August 2024. He has two and a half years left on his contract with Celtic.
Analysis: Celtic hope this refusal ends Forest’s pursuit of Engels
Anthony Joseph of Sky Sports News:
Celtic made it clear to Nottingham Forest this morning that Engels is not for sale in this slot, but Forest are moving into territory where the Hoops will have to take things more seriously. But they will be hoping that this refusal will put an end to Forrest’s pursuit for now.
A bid worth £25m was rejected, but Hoops bosses considered it for a little while compared to when the first and second offers were made.
The problem Celtic have is that they don’t have anyone to replace Engels.
Martin O’Neill also joked that he expected the bid for Engels to be rejected, but that the board would intervene if an offer of £100m was made.
That’s not £100m, but it’s approaching Celtic record sales territory.
Engels has made 37 appearances for Celtic this season. He scored five goals and recorded seven assists. The Belgian national team player is an essential part of the team.
With little time left to find a replacement, Celtic could have to make a difficult decision if Forest improve on their £25m offer.
