Celtic rejected three offers from Nottingham Forest in attempt to sign Arne Engels during the winter transfer window

Martin O’Neill has shut down any claims that Arne Engels is now unhappy at Celtic following the club’s dismissal of hefty Nottingham Forest interest.

The Premier League club were eager to bring Engels to the City Ground during the winter transfer window and their pursuit stretched all the way to the late hours of Deadline Day. Celtic rejected three significant offers from the East Midlands side, who are currently fighting to keep daylight between them and the relegation zone.

Forest’s last offer for Engels was an impressive £25 million, which would have been a tough bid to turn down. However, Celtic stood firm on keeping the Belgian on their books until at least the end of the season.

Arne Engels ‘unhappy’ after failed Nottingham Forest move

After the transfer window closed, a report suggesting Engels was ‘unhappy’ with the way Celtic handled the interest from Nottingham Forest emerged.

It was reported by Record Sport’s Scott Burns after Deadline Day that the 22-year-old is ‘thought to be unhappy’ with the club’s response to the offers received for his signature. It was said at the time that Celtic snubbed Forest back because they did not have enough time to sign a replacement.

However, Engels reportedly ‘wanted the chance’ to speak with Nottingham Forest and he feels as though Celtic have ‘knocked back a fair offer for his services’.

Martin O’Neill sets record straight over Arne Engels

Despite this report, O’Neill has ensured that Engels appears to be in good spirits and he believes he is still happy to be playing for Celtic.

While addressing the interest from Forest, the boss believes the Hoops made a statement with their firm stance on not selling the midfielder at this point in the season.

“To turn down that at this stage in January is really, really big,” O’Neill said. “The consequences of that are really big. I never asked how they were making it up but let’s say it was £20m with £5m added-on and that was attainable, you’re talking about £25m and that is big.”

He then said that Engels ‘seemed bright and breezy’ this morning and confirmed he ‘didn’t kick up a fuss’ about the late transfer drama either.

“I think that his agent was happy enough with the situation. He said that this is it, I think Arne is happy here, he wants to see what the season will bring at the end.

“Of course it’s tempting, it’s really big money for here. But they didn’t take their bait. So naturally, I’m really pleased. And we can re-look at things in the summertime.”