And so, Arne Engels has traded Scottish champions Celtic for life in the Championship with West Ham United. Go figure.
The Belgian departs with the best wishes of everyone at Parkhead following a fruitful two-season stay in Glasgow, but is this really, truly, a step up?
Yes, the riches on offer south of the border have turned many heads before him, while the bumper £22m transfer fee can’t be argued with, yet it is a sad indictment that scrapping in England’s second tier can be viewed as an improvement on winning major honours at Celtic.
|
Engels – Celtic record |
|
|---|---|
|
Stat |
Record |
|
Signed For |
£11m |
|
Games |
100 |
|
Goals |
17 |
|
Assists |
22 |
|
Premiership Games |
66 |
|
Premiership Goals |
14 |
|
Premiership Assists |
10 |
|
Trophies won |
4 |
|
Sold For |
£22m |
Perhaps the 22-year-old will go on to flourish and lead his new club into the Premier League, although recent history would suggest that the grass isn’t always greener.
Why history suggests Engels may find it difficult away from Celtic
It’s always easy to be a cynic from the outside looking in, with players well within their rights to make decisions they feel are the best for their careers, with the likes of Victor Wanyama and Virgil van Dijk famously reaping the rewards of their exits.
And yet, so often have those who moved on failed to really flourish elsewhere, the mind always casting back to Gary Hooper in 2013, the free-scoring striker heading to Norwich City to further his England ambitions.
From starring in Europe, while hitting 82 goals in just 132 games in green and white, Hooper ultimately tumbled down the divisions in the EFL, only scoring 20 times in 70 games for Norwich.
It was a similar story for Kyogo Furuhashi, the Japanese speedster departing in January 2025 in order to boost his World Cup hopes. What followed was an 18-month spell in which he scored just a solitary league goal for Rennes and Birmingham City, prior to joining LA Galaxy this summer.
Look to Kieran Tierney, a man now back in Glasgow after an injury-hit time at Arsenal. Look to Jota, the Portuguese also returning to Celtic Park after his own muted spells in Saudi Arabia and France.
Even Matt O’Riley has struggled after shining for the Hoops, currently facing an uncertain future at Brighton and Hove Albion, having never really got going for the Seagulls.
Engels, for his own sake, will be hoping to buck the trend, while for Martin O’Neill and co, the question remains as to how to replace him.
How Celtic can finally replace Engels before the deadline
The midfield unit has already been bolstered with the signing of Mika Baur, although the eye-catching German looks more in the mould of Reo Hatate as a technical, ball-playing option.
Alongside an influential, yet ageing Callum McGregor, Celtic need legs and athleticism, as Tuesday’s dismal defeat showcased, something Engels provided in abundance, including in his standout final outing against Kilmarnock.
A potential deal for Bosnian playmaker, Emin Mahmic, isn’t expected to fill that void either, the 21-year-old more likely to rival Benjamin Nygren in the number ten berth.
As such, it might fall to Canada star, Niko Sigur, to step up to the plate, with reports in Spain suggesting that Celtic have already lodged a bid for the 22-year-old, amid rival interest from Valencia.
That offer is said to have been in the region of €3.5m (£2.5m), although Hajduk Split are looking for closer to €5m (£4m), with two years still to run on his existing deal.
That latter price still feels like a bargain considering what Sigur could offer to O’Neill’s side, the youngster potentially set to be an able deputy for Alistair Johnston at right-back, while also filling the shoes of Engels in a deep-lying midfield role.
It is that latter starting berth that is believed to be his favoured position, Sigur notably shining in midfield as Canada exited the World Cup against Morocco this summer.
“I felt Sigur was exceptional, perhaps our best player on the pitch. The distance he covered, the decisions he made on the ball, the number of times he won possession in midfield, his vision in reading and creating plays, the ground he covered, the duels he won—he was outstanding in every aspect.”
As manager Jesse Marsch noted above, Sigur really does mirror Engels as being a real complete package in midfield, someone with so much to offer both in and out of possession.
The same age as the Belgian, there is a maturity to Sigur’s game that is almost beyond his years, having ended last season in Croatia with a pass accuracy rate of 90%.
Like Engels, he is an asset too when whipping the ball into the box from the right channel, completing 30% of his attempted crosses last term, just ahead of the ex-Celtic man in that regard (19%).
In a defensive sense, the versatile Canadian also stole the show with 3.5 tackles and interceptions made per game, again just ahead of Engels’ 1.5 average in the Premiership across 2025/26.
He’s combative and relentless, someone who eats up ground, be it at right-back or in the centre of the park. Indeed, Sigur averaged 10.9 kilometres covered last season, a remarkably similar record to Engels’ own 10.6 average.
That similar running power was also seen in how Sigur compared to Engels in terms of average sprints made per game (14.6 vs 16.3), as well as his top speed (35.4 km/h vs 35.2 km/h), with it clear to see why Celtic could expect the second coming of Engels at Parkhead.
