Iain Dowie has urged West Ham to push ahead with their interest in Celtic midfielder Arne Engels.
The Belgian international has emerged as a target for the Championship outfit as Nuno Espirito Santo looks to strengthen his squad ahead of a promotion push.
Engels remains a key player at Celtic and the Scottish champions are under no pressure to cash in on the 22-year-old, who arrived at the Hoops as the club’s record signing.
Any agreement would therefore require West Ham to make a significant financial commitment, with Celtic placing a substantial valuation on the midfielder.
Dowie, however, believes Engels possesses the qualities to make a major impact in London and is hopeful his former club can get a deal over the line.
Speaking via The Herald, he said: “I’m hoping that Arne Engels does end up at West Ham, that’s for sure.
“He played on Monday, and he offers such stability and quality passing. When you consider his output – 65 appearances and 14 goals – combined with the fact that he can play in so many positions, he’s incredibly versatile.
“He’s a quality passer and would be a fantastic acquisition. I don’t think Martin O’Neill would want to lose him, so we’ll see how that pans out, but it looks like West Ham are quite keen.
“West Ham is a big draw for anyone, and I think the Championship is an incredibly competitive league right now, especially with the calibre of teams that have recently come down.
“You can see that level of competition in transfer sagas like Dan Neil’s, everyone thought he was set for Southampton, but now Rangers have come in for him. It just shows how competitive everything is.
“I think Engels will find West Ham very attractive given that Jarrod Bowen is staying around as well.”
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1 Comment
Would still be surprised if Engels thought a season in the championship with West ham, was a more excited prospect, than that of a potential CL campaign with ourselves imo?
So don’t see the future of Engels getting resolved, until after the CL qualification games have concluded?
Even then, it’s still not totally clear upon what the intentions of Engels could be yet?
Admittedly we were expecting him to be moving on, during this summer period. Not totally convinced just now, especially with the Saturday night phone call to maloney, before the kille match?
Maybe Engels wasn’t down to play, but has had a change of mind, upon his potential future for this season?
Still believe Hatate will move on eventually, not so sure about Engels at present now imo?