Nottingham Forest submit third bid for Arne Engels | OneFootball

Nottingham Forest have made a third bid of up to £25m for Celtic midfielder Arne Engels (22), BBC Sport have reported.

The Premier League club had previous offers of £14m and £17m rejected for the 22-year-old Belgium international, but sources say the latest bid still falls short of Celtic’s valuation.

Engels joined Celtic from Augsburg in August 2024 for £11m and has since made 89 appearances, scoring five goals this season. He played a key role in last season’s Scottish Premiership and League Cup wins.

Interim Celtic manager Martin O’Neill said he was unaware of Forest’s latest approach following Sunday’s 2-0 win over Falkirk. “If they have, then they must have done it during the game. I would want it rebuffed, unless it was £100m,” he said.

Celtic are second in the Premiership, six points behind leaders Heart of Midlothian, and are preparing for Europa League play-off matches later this month.

Forest, 17th in the Premier League, are looking to strengthen their squad ahead of the final weeks of the season. It remains to be seen if Celtic will accept the offer before the transfer window closes.

GFN | Finn Entwistle