Why Celtic’s £4m-rated target could be their next Arne Engels

It is already shaping up to be a long summer of speculation on the future of several of Martin O’Neill‘s Celtic stars in the summer transfer window.

Alistair Johnston has been tipped for a Premier League move to Fulham, Daizen Maeda has one year left on his contract and is said to be open to moving down south.

It is Belgium international Arne Engels, however, who has attracted the most attention in the media in recent weeks, as several teams line up moves for him.

Premier League sides Sunderland and Crystal Palace, who are both in the Europa League next season, are eyeing up moves for the central midfielder.

Nottingham Forest, meanwhile, also retain an interest in the former Augsburg star after they had a £25m offer turned down on deadline day back in February.

Celtic eyeing deal to sign Bundesliga forward

The Scottish Premiership giants placed their faith in him when they broke their transfer record to sign him from Augsburg for £11m, and they have been rewarded for taking a risk on him.

His productivity at the top end of the pitch has increased in Scotland, helping him to raise his value, and the club are now looking at a star who could follow in his footsteps.

According to Sky Sports journalist Florian Plettenberg, Celtic are one of the clubs in the race to secure a deal for Borussia Dortmund youngster Cole Campbell in the summer transfer window.

The reporter claims that the Scottish giants are “interested” in snapping up the 20-year-old winger to add him to O’Neill’s group of wide options for next season.

He adds, though, that Bundesliga side SV Elversberg are also in the race for his services and have already opened talks with Dortmund about a deal.

Plettenberg explains that the German giants would prefer to sell him on a permanent basis this summer, but a season-long loan deal has not been completely taken off the table. The player is currently estimated to be worth £4m via Transfermarkt.

How Cole Campbell can be the next Arne Engels for Celtic

Campbell could become Celtic’s next version of Engels at Parkhead by joining as an unproven talent from the Bundesliga, with the potential to become a star in Glasgow.

As was the case for the Belgian ace at Augsburg, the USA U23 international has yet to deliver consistently at the top end of the pitch at first-team level in his career, with no goals or assists in ten matches in the Bundesliga for Dortmund or Hoffenheim.

Campbell, who is typically deployed as a right-sided winger, excelled at youth level for Dortmund before making his debut in the Bundesliga in the 2024/25 campaign as a teenager.

The American talent produced a whopping 45 goals and assists in 71 appearances at academy level for the German giants, averaging a goal or an assist every 1.6 matches.

His record for their U19s, in particular, was impressive. He racked up 26 goals and assists in 35 games in all competitions for their U19s, which shows that he has the potential to score and assist goals on a regular basis.

Engels had not scored and assisted goals week-in-week-out during his time in the Bundesliga with Augsburg, but a move to Celtic allowed him to flourish in a dominant side outside of the major leagues, even scoring in the SFA Cup final in his last game for the club.

The Belgian’s goal against Dunfermline at Hampden Park last month may end up being his final goal for the Hoops if he secures a transfer this summer, and it left him on 17 goals in 98 matches in all competitions.

Campbell, who was described as “flamboyant” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, has the potential to follow in Engels’ footsteps by moving to Celtic to finally carry his youth team form over to first-team level.

Putting him in a dominant Hoops side under O’Neill could give him the platform to kick on and show his quality in a senior environment, with his academy form suggesting that he could score and assist goals on a regular basis.

However, the Scottish giants must, first, ensure that they win the race for his signature beforeElversberg snap him up before they get the chance to.