West Ham United Sets EFL Transfer Record with £22m Signing of Arne Engels from Celtic
West Ham United has made history by breaking the EFL transfer record, securing midfielder Arne Engels from Scottish champions Celtic for a £22 million fee. The 22-year-old Belgium international has signed a five-year contract with the club, which announced the signing as the “record fee paid by an EFL Championship club.”
This new record surpasses the previous mark of £17.5 million set by Ipswich Town just a year ago when they acquired Norway forward Sindre Walle Egeli.
Following their relegation in May, West Ham is gearing up for their first Championship season since 2012, starting with a match against Burnley this Sunday. However, Engels will not be available for his debut until the home league derby against Charlton Athletic on Saturday, August 22. During his time at Celtic, Engels scored 17 goals and registered 22 assists across 100 appearances.
Engels represents West Ham’s fourth signing this summer, joining Venezuelan midfielder Keiber Lamadrid, Dutch defender Joel Veltman, and Israeli winger Manor Solomon.
West Ham’s director of player recruitment, Nils Koppen, expressed enthusiasm about the signing, stating, “Arne is a player we have been tracking for some time as a key target. For a player who is still very young with his best years in front of him, he has very good experience and has established himself at a big club, showing consistency and confidence. Arne has the right traits, both as a player and as a character, to fit into what we are trying to build moving forward. He is very motivated to be here for this challenge.”
Engels has made four appearances for the Belgium national team and experienced back-to-back Scottish Premiership titles with Celtic after joining from Augsburg in August 2024, having initially started his career at Club Brugge.
Reflecting on his move, Engels commented, “It’s a really nice project to come into. To try to go back to the Premier League. That’s the big goal. It’s just up to me to hopefully help the team with it and together with the supporters to get some wins. Hopefully it’s going to be a good year.”
West Ham United have broken the EFL transfer record by paying a £22m fee to sign midfielder Arne Engels from Scottish champions Celtic.
The 22-year-old Belgium international has signed a five-year contract after West Ham paid what they called a “record fee paid by an EFL Championship club”.
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It tops the £17.5m paid by Ipswich Town a year ago to sign Norway forward Sindre Walle Egeli.
Following relegation in May, West Ham start their first Championship season since 2012 with a trip to Burnley on Sunday.
But Engels, who scored 17 goals and provided 22 assists in 100 Celtic appearances, will not be available to make his debut until the home league derby against Charlton Athletic at the London Stadium on Saturday, 22 August.
Engels is West Ham’s fourth summer signing after the recruitment of Venezuela midfielder Keiber Lamadrid, Dutch defender Joel Veltman and Israel winger Manor Solomon.
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West Ham director of player recruitment Nils Koppen told the club website: “Arne is a player we have been tracking for some time as a key target.
“For a player who is still very young with his best years in front of him, he has very good experience and has established himself at a big club, showing consistency and confidence.
“Arne has the right traits, both as a player and as a character, to fit into what we are trying to build moving forward. He is very motivated to be here for this challenge.”
Engels, who has made four appearances for Belgium, won back-to-back Scottish Premiership titles with Celtic after arriving from Augsburg in August 2024, having begun his career at Club Brugge.
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“It’s a really nice project to come into,” he said. “To try to go back to the Premier League. That’s the big goal.
“It’s just up to me to hopefully help the team with it and together with the supporters to get some wins. Hopefully it’s going to be a good year.”
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