Celtic have rejected Nottingham Forest's third bid for midfielder Arne Engels worth up to £25m.
The Premier League club wanted to pay a guaranteed fee of £20m for Engels with £5m in add-ons.
Celtic mulled over the bid for their club-record signing but ultimately turned down the offer. They had previously rebuffed Forest's first two bids for the 22-year-old, with the previous offer of £17.3m.
Celtic have had no plans to sell Engel in this window and on Sunday boss Martin O'Neill said he hoped the club would reject any offers.
Engels was signed from Augsburg for £11m in August 2024. He has two and a half years left on his contract with Celtic.
Your Site News' Anthony Joseph:
Celtic made it clear to Nottingham Forest this morning that Engels was not for sale in this window, but Forest are moving into territory where the Hoops are having to think about things more seriously. They will hope, though, that this latest rejection ends Forest's pursuit for now.
A bid worth £25m was rejected but the Hoops hierarchy did mull it over for a little while, compared to when the first and second offers came in.
The issue Celtic have is that they do not have a replacement lined up for Engels.
Also, Martin O'Neill said he would expect any bids for Engels to be rebuffed, but joked the board would intervene if they received an offer of £100m.
This isn't £100m, but it's nearing the territory of Celtic's record sales.
Engels has played 37 games for Celtic this season. He has scored five goals and provided seven assists. The Belgium international is an integral part of the team.
With so little time left in the window to find a replacement, Celtic could be left with a difficult decision to make if Forest improve on their £25m offer.
