West Ham United ready to hit £30m for Arne Engels, Celtic take next steps

West Ham United are back in the market for Celtic midfielder Arne Engels.

The Hammers looked to have been priced out of a move for the Belgian international, but not anymore.

Nuno Espirito Santo is preparing his West Ham side to open their Championship season against Burnley on Sunday.

And after beating Portsmouth 3-1 in the Carabao Cup, clear gaps were noticable at the London Stadium.

That's where Engels comes back into play.

This time, West Ham have done everything to make sure that Celtic simply can't say no at Parkhead.

What will West Ham pay to sign Arne Engels?

It's likely to be a Championship record, and by some distance.

Alan Nixon has reported via his Patreon on Wednesday that West Ham are ready to hit £30million to get a deal done.

It's said that Celtic may have to reluctantly accept, with £25m plus promotion bonuses to make up the money.

Engels will be tempted by the wages at the London Stadium, with Celtic lining up two replacements in Europe already.

Where does Arne Engels fit under Nuno?

In short, it's the perfect new signing.

Edson Alvarez surprisingly started in holding midfield against Pompey, with Lewis Orford and Mahamodou Kante around him.

Simply put, that isn't good enough for Championship promotion.

Orford and Kante could make good impacts off the bench, but you need someone with genuine and proven quality in that advanced midfield role.

Engels has been there and done it with Celtic, consistently winning silverware and playing in Europe as an advanced eight.

With Alvarez, James Ward-Prowse and Tomas Soucek around him as depth and rotation, Engels will be perfect for Nuno.

The Belgian has scored 17 goals and added 22 assists from midfield in 100 appearances for Celtic, often doing that dirty work.

If he can hit double figures at West Ham alongside Jarrod Bowen, Taty Castellanos and Manor Solomon, promotion is surely guaranteed.

It's a huge sum of money to be spent, but given the net spend is way below £100m at the London Stadium, this is the right move.