{"id":27433,"date":"2026-04-30T21:56:31","date_gmt":"2026-04-30T21:56:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/2026\/04\/30\/22-year-old-celtic-player-set-for-a-possible-summer-move-will-losing-the-title-guarantee-a-sale\/"},"modified":"2026-04-30T21:56:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-30T21:56:31","slug":"22-year-old-celtic-player-set-for-a-possible-summer-move-will-losing-the-title-guarantee-a-sale","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/2026\/04\/30\/22-year-old-celtic-player-set-for-a-possible-summer-move-will-losing-the-title-guarantee-a-sale\/","title":{"rendered":"22-Year-Old Celtic Player Set For A Possible Summer Move: Will Losing The Title Guarantee A Sale?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>Celtic are staring down the very real possibility of losing their best midfielder this summer, and the result of the title race will likely decide whether Arne Engels stays or goes. Former <a href=\"https:\/\/the4thofficial.net\/2026\/04\/manchester-united-are-showing-interest-in-recruiting-this-barcelona-left-back-good-fit-for-carrick\/\">Manchester United<\/a> chief scout <a href=\"https:\/\/www.footballinsider247.com\/arne-engels-celtic-star-edges-closer-to-huge-summer-exit-after-nottingham-forest-bid\/\">Mick Brown told Football Insider<\/a> that Engels\u2019 consistently strong performances in Glasgow have made a move away more and more likely.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Celtic face summer reckoning as Engels edges towards the exit door<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Brown pointed out that the financial reality of Scottish football makes it hard to say no to massive offers, noting that <a href=\"https:\/\/the4thofficial.net\/2026\/04\/valuation-skyrockets-for-this-rumoured-celtic-target-what-should-the-hoops-do\/\">Celtic<\/a> usually take the money when a substantial bid comes in. He mentioned that scouts from Nottingham Forest and other clubs will be watching Engels closely during the final stretch, doing their homework before deciding on a formal bid this summer.<\/p>\n<p>Forest already put \u00a325 million on the table on deadline day in February, which Celtic knocked back because they weren\u2019t willing to let their star man go mid-season. Brown believes winning the Premiership is the big factor here; Champions League football gives Celtic the power to turn down even the most aggressive offers. Without it, he argues, it will be almost impossible to stop him from moving to a club offering football at a higher level.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s difficult for Celtic to keep hold of their best players,\u201d Brown told Football Insider.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe way the game is in Scotland at the moment, if a huge offer comes in for somebody, chances are it will be accepted because they could do with the money.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhenever there\u2019s a player performing at a high level for Celtic, it\u2019s going to attract interest.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSo when we\u2019re speaking about Engels, of course, there\u2019s going to be interest in him, and clubs will be keeping a close eye to see how he does in the run-in.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese interested clubs, Nottingham Forest and the rest, will send scouts to have a closer look at him and get all of the information they could possibly need.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cForest made that \u00a325million offer, so it\u2019s clear they are big fans of his and I wouldn\u2019t expect their interest to go away quickly if that is the case.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf Celtic don\u2019t go and win the league, it\u2019s going to be difficult to keep hold of him. That\u2019s the key for now: win the league and get into the Champions League.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf they can\u2019t do that, there are clubs who will be able to offer him the opportunity, and that\u2019s when it becomes difficult to prevent a move.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As of late April 2026, Celtic are second in the Premiership with 70 points, behind leaders Hearts. The title is still within reach, but it\u2019s far from a sure thing. Borussia Dortmund have now joined Forest and Lazio in the race for Engels, and sources say the player is definitely open to testing himself at a top European club.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Does Celtic losing the title actually guarantee that Engels leaves this summer?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_350421\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-350421\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/the4thofficial.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/celtic-v-falkirk-william-hill-premiership-3-scaled.jpg\" alt=\"Celtic\" width=\"2560\" height=\"1734\"  ><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-350421\">GLASGOW, SCOTLAND \u2013 APRIL 25: Arne Engels of Celtic take sa free kick during the William Hill Premiership match between Celtic and Falkirk at Celtic Park Stadium on April 25, 2026 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Zak Mauger\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Honestly, no, and that\u2019s an important distinction to make. Celtic still hold the cards because Engels is under contract until 2028. That gives the club plenty of breathing room in any talks. They could still hold out for a fee higher than the \u00a325 million Forest offered, even if the title ends up at Tynecastle or Ibrox.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s no doubt Engels has real quality; he\u2019s got great vision, stays calm on the ball, and chips in with goals. However, he can be inconsistent and has a bit of a worrying injury record. Interested clubs will be considering those risks carefully, especially if they\u2019re expected to pay north of \u00a325 million for a player who is still a work in progress.<\/p>\n<p>The end of the title race changes how Celtic approach the negotiation, but it doesn\u2019t change the contract. What really speeds up a sale is the player\u2019s own head being turned. If Engels decides he wants out, the amount of interest means Celtic will be under massive pressure to sell. Fans deserve some honesty: losing out on the Champions League and losing their best midfielder in the same summer would be a massive step backwards.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Celtic are staring down the very real possibility of losing their best midfielder this summer, and the result of the title race will likely decide whether Arne Engels stays or goes. Former Manchester United chief scout Mick Brown told Football Insider that Engels\u2019 consistently strong performances in Glasgow have made a move away more and [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13963,"featured_media":27434,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-27433","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27433","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13963"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27433"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27433\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27434"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27433"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27433"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27433"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}