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West Ham are likely to have competition from three Premier League teams for the signature of Celtic midfielder Arne Engels, according to reports.

Insider source ExWHUEmployee confirmed on The West Ham Way Patreon earlier this week that the Belgian is on the club’s “radar”

However, Sky Sports now claim that Nottingham Forest, Fulham and Sunderland are also hoping to snap up Engels.

Forest had a £25m bid rejected for the 22-year-old during the January transfer window, and it appears the Tricky Trees remain keen on securing his services.

It does suggest that West Ham’s chances of signing Engels are rather slim, not only because of the interest from Premier League clubs, but due to Celtic’s asking price, which may be above what the Irons are willing to pay.

What do fans need to know about Engels?

The midfielder came through the youth academies of Gent and Club Brugge, but he made his name at Augsburg.

Engels only had one season at the Bundesliga side (2023/24), but his performances attracted the attention of Celtic, who paid a club-record £11m for the midfielder two years ago.

He has had two impressive campaigns in Scotland, scoring a total of 17 goals and contributing 21 assists in 98 appearances.

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West Ham are planning for life without Fernandes

It’s clear that Engels was being considered as a potential replacement for Mateus Fernandes, who is set to leave the London Stadium after one season.

Manchester United are pushing very hard to recruit the 21-year-old, but there are several other teams interested, including Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Arsenal and Liverpool.

For that reason, there is no need to sell Fernandes on the cheap. The club have set their asking price at £80m to £85m, and it remains to be seen whether any club will match it.

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