Martin O’Neill has ‘saved Celtic from Wilfried Nancy‘, that’s why they rejected huge offer
Martin O’Neill has turned Celtic’s form around again since returning to Parkhead last month.
O’Neill was appointed as interim manager until the end of the season after Wilfried Nancy was sacked just 33 days after joining from Columbus Crew.
The Glasgow giants are unbeaten in their eight matches since the 73-year-old took up the reins for the second time this season, having previously stepped in following Brendan Rodgers’s exit.
Meanwhile, Celtic have signed Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on a deal until the end of the campaign, with five more additions arriving through the door in recent weeks.
However, the biggest story coming out of Parkhead was Nottingham Forest seeing a £25million bid rejected for Arne Engels on deadline day (2 February).
How Celtic transfer decision compares to Marc Guehi deal
Former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider Celtic are unlikely to lose anything by turning down offers for Engels as he expects the midfielder’s value to remain high this summer.
The Belgium international joined the Hoops for £11m from Augsburg in the summer of 2024.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson said: “Clearly, there’s a price at which everybody goes, ‘That’s just too much money for us to turn down in this window’.
“It’s sort of a similar situation to Guehi in that Crystal Palace could not look at it and go, ‘Let’s just keep him. Let’s just effectively accept that we are losing £20m to have the player for four more months’. There’s no way they could do that.
“But in this situation, Celtic will probably lose zero. Plus, they’ll have the player between now and the summer.”
Why Celtic rejected Nottingham Forest’s Arne Engels offer
Borson insisted Celtic likely didn’t want to annoy O’Neill by accepting an offer for Engels in the January window.
“He may even be more expensive in the summer, so they may even make an uplift in his transfer fee,” said Borson.
“Plus, they’ve had access to him between now and the end of the season.
“Plus, they’re not annoying Martin O’Neill, who is already somebody who has saved them from the fiasco with the previous manager, so I wasn’t at all surprised that Celtic didn’t do that deal.”
Celtic are currently competing with leaders Hearts and Old Firm rivals Rangers in the race for the Scottish Premiership title.
For more Celtic and exclusive news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.