Arne Engels will not make his West Ham United debut against Burnley on Sunday after his registration was not completed in time for the Championship opener. The Arne Engels Burnley absence leaves Nuno Espírito Santo without his new £22million midfielder at Turf Moor.
West Ham completed the signing of the Belgium international from Celtic over the weekend, but talkSPORT reports Engels was not registered early enough to be eligible for Sunday’s 4pm BST fixture.
The 22-year-old is instead expected to be available when West Ham face Charlton Athletic next weekend.
Arne Engels Burnley absence confirmed
Engels had appeared to be racing towards an immediate West Ham debut after Celtic manager Martin O’Neill revealed the Hammers wanted him available for their opening Championship fixture.
That will now have to wait.
The EFL’s official transfer regulations state that registration documents must be submitted before 12 noon on the day prior to the relevant match for a player to be eligible.
Applications received after that point can still be processed, but the player cannot feature in that fixture.
West Ham announced Engels after the relevant cut-off, meaning Nuno cannot include him at Turf Moor.
The development comes after ReadWestHam reported on Friday that West Ham had reached a full £22m agreement with Celtic for Engels.
talkSPORT reports the midfielder has signed a five-year contract with an option for a further season and will wear the No.7 shirt in east London.
Nuno loses another midfield option
Engels’ absence creates an immediate selection problem for Nuno.
Tomáš Souček is already unavailable, reducing the number of established midfield options available for West Ham’s return to Championship football.
Burnley have problems of their own. ReadWestHam reported that Josh Cullen, Jordan Beyer and Jaydon Banel are expected to miss Sunday’s opener.
The fixture kicks off at 4pm BST at Turf Moor, with West Ham beginning their first Championship campaign in 14 years.
Engels has been recruited to play an important role in the promotion push, but supporters will have to wait at least another week for their first opportunity to see the Belgian in competitive action.
For Nuno, the immediate concern is finding the right midfield combination without him at Burnley.
