West Ham are seemingly barking up the wrong tree when it comes to Arne Engels. The Hammers are intent on signing the Celtic midfielder this summer, but they are not willing to pay his asking price as things stand.
The Bhoys knocked back West Ham's initial offer, with Martin O'Neill confirming the offers were 'nowhere near' what Celtic are looking for, which is believed to be £25million. Engels attracted a £25million bid from Nottingham Forest back in January, which was rejected.
According to ExWHUEmployee, West Ham are not raising their offer at this stage, feeling they have offered fair value for Engels, who is said to want to make the move to the Championship side.
But thr Hammers are mistaken in their approach.
Celtic don't neew to cower to West Ham
West Ham are now a Championship club, and whether Engels wants the move or not, Celtic can hold firm in a way that they wouldn't be able to if the interested club was a Newcastle or an Aston Villa.
Other Premier League clubs are said to be interested, and so Celtic can stand their ground and perhaps without upsetting Engels too much, given he could still get a move elsewhere.
Beyond that, West Ham brought in £85million for Mateus Fernandes and another £60million for Crysencio Summerville. When you have that money, it is no longer about 'fair value'. You do not get 'fair value'.
Celtic have found that out already this summer, with other clubs knowing they have money to spend, and it's going to get no easier when they try to sign a replacement for Engels, and clubs know they have up to £25million to spend.
West Ham are now in that situation, given the money they have, and Celtic are not going to be reducing their fee for a club that can clearly afford to pay the full asking price and then some.
Fair value simply does not exist in football. The value is set by what the selling club is willing to sell for, and then it is down to buying clubs to decide whether they want to pay the money.
West Ham have the money, so they are going to have to pay it. Until then, it's clear Celtic will not sell, especially with those two Champions League qualifiers coming up in just over 10 days. The Bhoys would prefer to have Engels for those games, and the second of the games is on August 25, so the Hoops won't be rushed into a sale.
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