West Ham smash Championship transfer record to land Celtic's Arne Engels
West Ham smash Championship transfer record to land Celtic's Arne Engels
West Ham United have kicked off their transfer window with a statement of intent, confirming the signing of midfielder Arne Engels from Celtic in a deal reported to be worth £22m — a fee that breaks the Championship transfer record.
The Belgium international has signed a five-year contract with the Hammers, with an option for a further 12 months, as he joins the east London club's push to earn promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt.
Celtic boss Martin O'Neill revealed on Friday that Engels was close to joining the Hammers, and the move has now been completed ahead of Sunday's Championship campaign opener.
Engels eager to get started
The 22-year-old will not be available for West Ham's Championship opener against Burnley on Sunday, but could make his debut on August 22 against Charlton Athletic at the London Stadium. Speaking after putting pen to paper, Engels made his ambitions clear.
"It feels amazing to be here, so I'm delighted and I can't wait to get started," Engels told the club website. "It's a really nice project to come into and try to go back to the Premier League. That's the big goal.
"I think that's everybody's goal and it's just up to me to hopefully help the team with it and together with the supporters to get some wins. Hopefully, we'll see that it's going to be a good year then and I'm looking forward to the next ones.
"I'm just looking forward to meeting all the fans at London Stadium. I'm looking forward to this challenging season, but hopefully we can make it a really good one, so let's go for it!"
A decorated Celtic career
Engels arrives at the London Stadium with silverware to his name, having won two Scottish Premierships with Celtic, as well as one Scottish Cup and one Scottish League Cup. The midfielder scored 14 goals and provided 10 assists in 66 Scottish Premiership games for the Glasgow club, and rounded off his spell in Scotland with an assist in his final appearance — a 5-1 win over Kilmarnock.
With the Championship record broken and a marquee midfielder now on board, all eyes turn to whether Engels can spark the Hammers' promotion charge when he makes his long-awaited debut later this month.