West Ham break EFL record to sign Engels for £22m

West Ham United have shattered the EFL transfer record by paying £22m to sign Arne Engels from Scottish champions Celtic. The 22-year-old Belgian international has agreed to a five-year contract, topping the £17.5m paid by Ipswich Town for Sindre Walle Egeli last year. Following relegation in May, West Ham embarks on their first Championship season since 2012 with a match against Burnley on Sunday.

However, Engels will not feature in his debut until the home league derby against Charlton Athletic on August 22. Engels, who can play in midfield, right-back, or right-wing, is West Ham's fourth summer signing, following Keiber Lamadrid (Venezuela), Joel Veltman (Dutch), and Manor Solomon (Israel). West Ham director of player recruitment Nils Koppen stated that Engels is a player they have been tracking for some time as a key target.

Arne has been consistent and confident since joining Celtic, having established himself there after a successful stint at Club Brugge. Engels, who has represented Belgium four times, is excited about the challenge of returning to the Premier League with West Ham and aims to help the team achieve their goal.