Arne Engels stays at Celtic after a dramatic transfer deadline day.
Not many Celtic fans expected it, but whilst the club tried to enhance the squad with new faces, the final 24 hours of the January transfer window were dominated by the noise around Engels.
Celtic rejected £25 million for Engels from Nottingham Forest, and many are questioning whether the champions of Scotland have made the right call.
Michael Stewart tried to digest and unravel why Celtic have turned down such big money for a player who has divided opinion during his two years in Glasgow.
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Michael Stewart understands why Celtic turned down bids for Arne Engels
At the start of January, Wilfried Nancy was still in the dugout, and Paul Tisdale was still in the Celtic boardroom.
But Celtic had to rip everything up once those two were out of the door, and Stewart feels it has left the club in a bit of a pickle.
Speaking on Premier Sports, Stewart thinks, in ‘normal circumstances’, Engels is sold, but because they are trying to ‘implement a transfer strategy on the hoof in the transfer window’, then it means they have to turn down such offers.
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“I think this strikes at the heart of the issues Celtic have got,” said Stewart. “This is the balancing act between the here and now and the long-term strategy.
“There is no doubt in my mind, a £25 million bid for Arne Engels, under normal circumstances, you take it, every day of the week.
“The problem is that with Celtic trying to implement a transfer strategy on the hoof in the transfer window, they are desperately almost going into a defensive mode of, ‘we need to just keep everything we have got. Add what we possibly can, and then we will assess the situation in the summer.’
“That may well be fine, or it may well prove to be detrimental. All things being equal, and in normal circumstances, Celtic would be accepting a bid of £25 million for Arne Engels. I don’t think there is any doubt about that.”
Wholesale changes to Celtic’s midfield?
Whether Celtic defend their title or not, come the summer, you sense there will be wholesale changes to the middle of the park.
Engels will probably be sold, alongside Reo Hatate, and then you have captain Callum McGregor, who clearly needs help and somebody to come in and take the burden off him.
Then you have the fringe players that might be moved on; Paulo Bernardo is one name that certainly sticks in mind, and perhaps Luke McCowan.
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