West Ham have confirmed the signing of midfielder Arne Engels from Celtic.
Celtic boss Martin O’Neill revealed on Friday that Engels was close to joining the Hammers in a reported £22m deal, breaking the Championship transfer record.
The Belgium international has signed a five-year deal with West Ham, with an option for a further 12 months, as he looks to help them earn promotion back to the Premier League.
Engels will not be available for West Ham’s Championship opener against Burnley on Sunday, but could make his debut on August 22 against Charlton Athletic at the London Stadium.
“It feels amazing to be here, so I’m delighted and I can’t wait to get started,” Engels told the club website.
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“It’s a really nice project to come into and try to to go back to the Premier League. That’s the big goal.
“I think that’s everybody’s goal and it’s just up to me to hopefully help the team with it and together with the supporters to get some wins.
“Hopefully, we’ll see that it’s going to be a good year then and I’m looking forward to the next ones.
“I’m just looking forward to meeting all the fans at London Stadium. I’m looking forward to this challenging season, but hopefully we can make it a really good one, so let’s go for it!”
Engels won two Scottish Premierships with Celtic, as well as one Scottish Cup and one Scottish League Cup.
The 22-year-old scored 14 goals and provided 10 assists in 66 Scottish Premiership games for Celtic and recorded an assist in his final game for the club, a 5-1 win over Kilmarnock.
