On August 15, West Ham United Football Club officially announced that it had signed Belgian international Arne Engels.

Engels previously played for Celtic. The transfer fee has not yet been disclosed, but the deal has set a new record for fees paid by an EFL Championship club. He has signed a 5-year contract, which includes an option to extend for 1 year.

Engels is a versatile and creative midfielder, as well as a set-piece specialist. He is regarded as one of the best young midfielders in European football. Over the past two seasons, he has performed exceptionally well in Scotland, helping Celtic win the Scottish Premiership title in consecutive years and directly contributing to 39 goals in 100 appearances for the team.

Engels, 22, has made four appearances for the Belgian national team. His professional career began at Club Brugge, after which he joined Augsburg in Germany and played in the Bundesliga for 18 months.

West Ham United Football Director Nils Koppen and head coach Nuno considered Engels a key transfer target for the team. Now that he has successfully joined West Ham, Engels is excited to begin a new chapter in his career in East London.

Engels stated: "It feels great to be here. I'm very happy and can't wait to start this new journey."

"This is a very good project. We want to work hard to return to the Premier League; that's the biggest goal. I think that's everyone's goal too. Now it's up to me, and I hope I can help the team achieve this goal and win more games with the fans."

"Hopefully, in the end, we will have a great season, and I'm looking forward to the challenges ahead. What I'm most looking forward to now is meeting all the fans at the London Stadium. It will be a challenging season, but hopefully we can make it a very good one, so let's go!"

West Ham United Football Director Koppen said: "We are very pleased to have completed Arne's signing. He has been a key target we have been watching for some time."

"Although Arne is still very young and the best years of his career are ahead of him, he has already gained a wealth of experience and established himself at a big club, showing consistency and confidence."

"We believe that Arne, in terms of both his attributes as a player and his personal character, is very much in line with the requirements of our future team-building. He is highly motivated to take on this challenge and come here, and we very much look forward to seeing his growth."

Engels is expected to make his West Ham United debut in the club’s opening home game of the new Championship season on Saturday, August 22, when West Ham host Charlton Athletic at the London Stadium.

West Ham United Football Club welcomes Arne Engels to East London and wishes him every success in his career wearing the team's traditional claret and blue colours.

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