Celtic line up record-breaking signing as Arne Engels exit 'announced'

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Tom Weber | Writer

Multilingual sports writer who specialises in European football and American soccer.

Celtic are set for a busy summer transfer window in terms of both incomings and outgoings, with one major departure already ostensibly confirmed.

The Hoops have won a domestic double, and yet the season just gone will go down as a strange one. 74-year-old Martin O'Neill had to step into the breach twice as interim head coach, drawing on all of his experience to oversee a successful conclusion to the campaign.

There is likely to be a major summer clearout at Parkhead, which in turn will necessitate the signing of replacements. Celtic will have money to spend, but the biggest question mark is over whether they will put their funds to good use.

One of the club's most valuable assets is midfielder Arne Engels, who has admirers all around Europe, including in the Premier League. Nottingham Forest were prepared to make him Celtic's biggest-ever sale in January, but the Hoops held firm.

That only delayed the inevitable, however. Belgian transfer expert Sacha Tavolieri reports that Engels has decided to leave Celtic this summer after recently signing with a new agency, which is always a clear sign that a player is weighing up their future.

Engels out, Smajlovic in?

Forest have reportedly retained their interest in the Belgium international, though Tavolieri does not name any of Engels' English suitors. The only club explicitly disclosed are AC Milan, who, like Celtic, are in for a transformative summer window.

With Engels' exit desire now made public, it is doubtful that Celtic will be able to command a similar fee to the roughly €30m that a desperate Forest were prepared to shell out on January Deadline Day. The midfielder's Estimated Transfer Value (ETV) currently stands at €11.9m.

Meanwhile, Celtic are scouring the market for potential incomings. Norwegian journalist Eirik Nesset Hjelvik reports that the Hoops are one of the clubs in the race to sign Zinedin Smajlovic.

The 22-year-old is a former Sweden youth international and is also eligible to represent Bosnia and Herzegovina. Smajlovic is a centre-back by trade and has been impressing at Sandefjord in the Eliteserien.

According to Hjelvik, "a lot suggests" that Sandefjord will look to cash in on the defender this summer. The Norwegian side are planning to make Smajlovic their new record sale, meaning that any deal will have to cost more than €2.7m.

In addition to Celtic, the 22-year-old is also being courted by Toulouse and Feyenoord.