Arne Engels - Who Are You?

Arne Engels has become West Ham’s latest signing and is also set to break the Championship transfer fee record, with an expected deal to be concluded for £22 million.

He’s 22. Born in Belgium. Plays in midfield. But what makes him so special?

Arne Engels initially kickstarted his career in the KAA Gent youth academy system, but swiftly changed over to the Club Brugge academy, which saw him rise through the ranks. His performance at Club Brugge was enough to see him play for Brugge’s second side, Club NXT, where he placed himself in the picture but still under the radar, though not too hidden for Augsburg, who spotted the young talent and bought him for €100k in 2022.

From 2022 onwards, he shone in the Bundesliga. The young Belgian was thrown straight into the starting eleven, and upon joining in January, he would only miss one game for the remainder of that campaign.

His impressive stint in the Bundesliga earned him a European Golden Boy nomination, as well as a move to Celtic, which cost the Scottish side £11m and was their club record signing in 2024.

His move to West Ham will see him put pen to paper on a 5-year deal, and part of the reason as to why the Hammers have been able to secure him for just £22m is due to his eagerness to join West Ham, pushing the move to us.

Pitch playmaker

Arne Engels possesses the skills that West Ham currently need in their Championship side: a box-to-box midfielder and someone who’s more prominent in the attacking box rather than defensively. His passing ability is something that has made him stand out throughout his career, with his vision and the ability to play the ball into the right area should the run be made.

Engels may take some time to embed into West Ham, he may need a while to gel with his teammates and might need some time to get the ball rolling. Additionally, Hammers fans should note that Engels isn’t the full package, he’s still very much a raw talent whose building and embracing his skills as time passes, and a season in the Championship will be perfect for him. Being in the second tier allows him to build on his already successful foundation.

He is a playmaker. He’ll find the passes. He can pick out the people that he needs to. The Belgian is much more likely to get double digits in assists in comparison to goals, that’s the best way to put it.

Additionally, many fans have said that Engels is always up and down in terms of form, however, that’s not necessarily the case. The 22-year-old has a consistently good baseline of strong performance - however, on his day he’s got the ability and movement of the Belgian greats, but it’s not consistently world-class, which makes sense, as he then wouldn’t be a £22m player - he’d be £90m!

It’s all about the Engels you choose to view it from… apologies.

The West Ham perspective

Arne Engels will be a player many fans appreciate, he’s hard-working on the ball and persistently gives his all. However, despite the positives, he will still need the others around him. I suspect that his counter partner will be Mohamadou Kante in midfield, as the traits both possess would go hand in hand, though Tomas Soucek would also work, who is currently returning from injury, but Engels would have to facilitate how Fernandes did last season, in terms of being able to cover the defensive line should Soucek lose his man.

West Ham suffered from this against Burnley in the 2-2 draw, being persistently overrun in the midfield, and Lewis Orford often struggled, meaning Kanté had to overcompensate to ensure chaos didn’t break out, which became limited after his yellow card.

As mentioned, it might take a while for Engels to embed himself into West Ham and the tactic, as it did with Fernandes at the beginning, but should he settle in quickly, West Ham might have a serious midfielder and bolster-point on their hands.

Time will tell, but all we know is Arne Engels is a Hammer.