West Ham Complete Record-Breaking £22m Deal for Celtic Star Arne Engels

West Ham United have made history in the EFL by completing a £22 million move for Celtic midfielder Arne Engels, making him the most expensive signing ever made by a Championship club.

The 22-year-old Belgium international has agreed to a five-year contract with the Hammers, who have described the transfer fee as a new EFL Championship record. The deal surpasses the previous record of £17.5 million, which Ipswich Town paid for Norwegian forward Sindre Walle Egeli last year.

West Ham were relegated from the Premier League in May and are now preparing for their first Championship campaign since 2012. They begin the new season away to Burnley on Sunday, although Engels will have to wait before making his competitive debut.

The midfielder is expected to be available for the London derby against Charlton Athletic at the London Stadium on August 22.

Engels leaves Celtic after making 100 appearances for the Scottish giants, contributing 17 goals and 22 assists. During his time in Glasgow, he helped Celtic secure consecutive Scottish Premiership titles after joining from Augsburg in August 2024.

He becomes West Ham’s fourth signing of the summer, following Venezuela midfielder Keiber Lamadrid, Dutch defender Joel Veltman and Israeli winger Manor Solomon.

West Ham’s director of player recruitment, Nils Koppen, revealed that the club had been monitoring Engels for some time and regarded him as a priority target. He also praised the midfielder’s experience despite his young age and believes his personality and playing qualities suit the direction West Ham are taking.

Engels, who has already earned four senior caps for Belgium, began his professional career with Club Brugge before moving to Germany with Augsburg and subsequently making the switch to Celtic.

The midfielder is excited by the opportunity to join West Ham and has made his ambition clear: helping the club return to the Premier League.

He sees the move as an exciting project and hopes to play an important role in helping the Hammers achieve promotion. With West Ham investing a record Championship fee to secure his services, expectations will undoubtedly be high when Engels eventually makes his debut.