Arne Engels sets clear West Ham target as record £25m transfer confirmed

Young Belgian ready to help Irons bounce back to the top flight

Arne Engels has set his sights on steering West Ham back to the Premier League after his transfer from Celtic was confirmed.

The Belgium international, who has put pen to paper on a five-year deal, moves for a fee which Standard Sport understands could rise as high as £25m if add-ons are met. That makes him the most expensive signing in Championship history, beating the £20.8m Burnley spent to sign Florentino Luis in July.

West Ham on Sunday will play their first game of Championship football since they won promotion to the top flight in 2012, visiting Burnley, and Engels has already set his sights on delivering the club back to the Premier League as soon as possible.

“It's a really nice project to come into and try to go back to the Premier League,” he said after signing.

“That's the big goal. I think that's everybody's goal and it's just up to me to hopefully help the team with it and together with the supporters to get some wins.

Arne Engels signs in at West Ham

West Ham United

“Hopefully, we'll see that it's going to be a good year then and I'm looking forward to the next ones.

“I'm just looking forward to meeting all the fans at London Stadium. I’m looking forward to this challenging season, but hopefully we can make it a really good one, so let's go for it!”

Engels, 22, will not be registered in time to face Burnley, though he is expected to be available when the Irons host Charlton on matchday two.

His two years in Scotland have seen him net two Scottish Premiership titles, and he already has four senior international caps to his name despite his meagre years.

The midfielder is the fourth new arrival of the summer at the London Stadium, following Keiber Lamadrid, Joel Veltman and Manor Solomon.

The Irons have been in talks to sign the player since July, but after protracted talks, the move was signed and sealed in short order this week. He travelled to London to undergo his medical on Friday.

West Ham’s director of player recruitment Nils Koppen said Engels’ signing was something of a coup: “He is a player we have been tracking for some time as a key target.

“For a player who is still very young with his best years in front of him, he has very good experience and has established himself at a big club, showing consistency and confidence. He is very motivated to be here for this challenge, and we are excited to see him develop.”