Spanish publisher Marca have claimed that Celtic are looking for over 29 million euros for Matt O’Riley.
The midfielder extended his contract last September but that doesn’t bring any guarantees with a massive profit on the £1.5m paid to MK Dons in January 2022 as good as assured.
Atletico Madrid seem to be the club keenest to sign O’Riley but a fee of over 30 million euros is a massive commitment even for a club in one of the top five leagues enjoying the benefits of massive broadcasting revenue.
Most Celtic fans are expecting a significant rebuild in the summer, finding a replacement for O’Riley would be almost as difficult a task as bringing in Joe Hart’s successor.
So far there has been little sign of activity on the recruitment front but it seems inevitable that interest in the Danish internationalist will evolve into bids as clubs get their pre-season preparations underway.
On Sunday Marca reported:
Atlético continues to move to reinforce its midfield. The Cívitas Metropolitano club is looking for a player in the middle to increase competition in a team that already includes Koke, Vermeeren, De Paul, Barrios… and Lemar, who will be one more after the serious injury suffered last season .
Atlético are very close to Matt O’Riley, Celtic midfielder.
A footballer that the red and white sports management was already following last summer and even the Danish press offered data on the red and white offer.
According to the Danish media ‘ Tipsbladet ‘, the offer rejected by Celtic was 21 million euros , while Celtic valued their player at 29 million. Now Celtic are asking for even more, knowing that he is a sought-after player and that he may end up leaving.
Joining a club that has fairly regular Champions League access and reached the last eight of the competition would appeal to any player, three years ago O’Riley was preparing for life at MK Dons as he relaunched his career after reaching a dead end at Fulham.
His impact at Celtic was instant in January 2022, picking up a Man of the Match award on his debut at Tynecastle then featuring strongly in the emphatic 3-0 win over Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s side that pivoted Scottish football in Celtic’s direction.
That midfield trio alongside Callum McGregor and Reo Hatate drive Celtic on to the 23/24 double but it looks like the Scottish Cup Final at Hampden last season could have been their final appearance together.
O’Riley and Hatate were short of their best but had the experience and know-how of how to deliver results with the Danish internationalist scoring in the two previous Glasgow Derbies.
Succession planning has been a big problem for Celtic down the years, last season four wingers were signed after the departure of Jota with similar attempts made to replace Kieran Tierney and Moussa Dembele after their big money departures on 2019 and 2018.
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