Celtic are braced for a fourth Matt O’Riley bid as yet another club enter the mix for his signature this summer, it has been reported.
O’Riley in hot demand
There has rarely been a player more in demand at Celtic than midfielder Matt O’Riley after a fantastic Scottish Premiership campaign. The Danish midfielder, who opened the scoring in their 4-1 pre-season thrashing of Chelsea last week, has been a key part of Celtic’s midfield since joining in 2022, and has attracted the interest of some of Europe’s biggest clubs.
Atletico Madrid had a bid rejected for the 23-year-old in January, while reports linked Serie A champions Inter with a move for the midfielder ahead of the summer window.
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The three players are deemed surplus to requirements at Celtic Park.
They are yet to complete a move, but current European Champions Atalanta are pushing hard to land the talented midfielder for Gian Piero Gasperini’s side. So far, they have seen three bids turned down by the Glasgow outfit for O’Riley, with the most recent offer totaling €17m (£14m) knocked back by Celtic last week.
Brendan Rodgers refused to be drawn on the latest on his star man when quizzed during pre-season, but admitted he could well depart.
“There’s no update, fairly relaxed,” Rodgers told a news conference. “He knows the privilege it is to play for Celtic. Celtic is a club where you can move on but you don’t have to and it’s a very difficult club to move on from.
“Naturally, with the wages that are on offer for players, that makes it a real challenge for Celtic to compete at that level. He knows what he has here. We’re all quite relaxed with it. Every player has a value, we know that.”
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O’Riley’s incredible 23/24 campaign |
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Appearances |
49 |
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Goals |
19 |
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Assists |
18 |
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Minutes per goal/assist |
116 |
Southampton readying bid for midfielder
Football Insider now report that Southampton are readying an opening bid for the Celtic midfielder. The south coast side, who can offer Premier League football after their promotion via the play-offs, have an advantage on the competition too.
That is because coach Russell Martin has already worked with O’Riley before, and is reported to have a “close relationship” with the midfielder, who he is “very keen to work with” again.
It is added that O’Riley has been “earmarked as a statement signing” after an otherwise largely low-key summer for the Saints, and that “an official bid” is now being readied for his services.
It remains to be seen whether the close bond between Martin and O’Riley is enough to convince the Danish midfielder to pick what is likely to be a relegation battle in the Premier League over a Champions League campaign under Gasperini, but it would certainly be a masisve coup were the Saints able to pick him up ahead of the competition.
For Celtic, added interest may drive the price up further, and should the club be resigned to his exit this summer then a bidding war would be in their best interests.
