Celtic faced a major transfer deadline day challenge as they turned away several offers for Arne Engels from Nottingham Forest.
Engels attracted strong attention in January, with RB Leipzig initially expressing interest in the Celtic standout halfway through the transfer window.
However, Nottingham Forest were the first to challenge Celtic’s determination with a £14m offer before deadline day, but the Parkhead side swiftly dismissed it.
Forest then came back to Celtic with a £17.3m proposal early on deadline day, but the Parkhead decision-makers instantly declined it, delivering a clear ‘not for sale’ stance.
That didn’t discourage the Premier League club as Forest presented Celtic with a £25m proposal, and with only hours remaining, the message remained unmistakable. Engels was staying put.
Alex Rae, sharing his perspective, weighed in on the Celtic transfer situation as the former Rangers coach made a questionable claim that Forest submitted the offers purely out of ‘desperation’.
Alex Rae says £25m Forest bid for Arne Engels was ‘desperation’
Celtic supporters will be delighted to retain Engels as they chase the title through to the end of the campaign, but it appears the multi-million pound offers have somewhat frustrated Rae.
Rae said on Superscoreboard, “I think it was a desperation from Nottingham Forest, the fact that they went from £14m to £25m with add-ons.
“It’s desperation because they need to get a player in, and then obviously they tried to push the bar, and they [Celtic] haven’t swallowed it.
“I thought directly after the game at the weekend when Martin O’Neill said I hope it’s been rebuffed, I thought it’d be very difficult for that Celtic board, whoever the man is, to not take that dough and say I’m selling him.
“In an ideal world, you would have punted him. It’s massive money for a player who hasn’t torn it up, but he’s obviously doing something right because he’s on the radar of a Premier League team.
This storyline suggesting Engels has somehow been disappointing since arriving at Celtic is repetitive, but predictable from figures like Rae.
Nottingham Forest expert says Alex Rae ‘hasn’t a clue’ about bid for Celtic’s Engels
To gain further insight into the Premier League club’s reasons for their strong transfer pursuit of Engels, 67 Hail Hail contacted Nottingham Forest News’ Lee Clarke to get his thoughts on why the Belgian was so heavily targeted.
When told Rae claimed Forest’s move was made out of ‘desperation’, Clarke said, “Hasn’t a clue. So we offloaded Douglas Luiz – he was recalled by Juve before joining Villa on loan.
“Our only central midfielder on the bench in recent weeks has been Ryan Yates who many believe isn’t really good enough to be a regular Premier League starter.
“Dominguez is largely playing out wide, Sangare has had two bad injuries since coming to the club and Anderson has played every minute of every game for last two seasons pretty much.
“All that considered it’s no surprise we went for another midfielder.”
It’s also unsurprising that Rae’s remarks have been dismissed because Celtic supporters know, as does Nottingham Forest boss Sean Dyche, that Engels possesses real quality and individuals like Rae are best overlooked.