Celtic manager Martin O’Neill could be without Arne Engels as Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace want to snatch him away from Celtic Park. 

Two months ago, we relayed news that Nottingham Forest could return, after failure to sign him in January. The player has opened doors to leave Celtic and is ready to evaluate offers.

Last week, Sport Witness covered claims of Italy backing Nottingham Forest’s interest in the Celtic man, valued at over €25m. There was no mention of Crystal Palace.

The January disappointment hasn’t put off the Reds. That’s according to Belgian journalist Sacha Tavolieri, who took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share the latest.

He claims this is his exclusive information about Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest’s interest in Celtic’s Arne Engels.

Vítor Pereira is likely to see Elliot Anderson leave the City Ground this summer. The latest claims from the UK state Manchester City are leading the race while Manchester United remain in the background.

The Reds seem to have given up on retaining Anderson and identify the Celtic midfielder as a target to replace him. Therefore, Nottingham Forest have re-entered the race to sign the Belgium international.

Crystal Palace are also keen on the 22-year-old and Tavolieri claims Pierre Sage’s new side aim to convince Engels to pick them over their Premier League counterpart.

In short, the two English clubs will battle it out for the Celtic player’s signature. As of now, it’s unclear who will win the race or about the Belgian’s preference.

Crystal Palace can offer European football

The Eagles won the UEFA Conference League and secured a berth in the Europa League. Nottingham Forest, on the other hand, didn’t qualify for Europe.

Crystal Palace could use this to tempt Arne Engels to pick them over Vítor Pereira’s side.

Arne Engels managed seven goals and eight assists from 46 matches for Martin O’Neill’s side this season.