HITC understands that Celtic could be set to lose one of their key players this summer but only for a club record fee.
As it stands the record sale in Scotland is £25million – which Celtic have received twice; for Kieran Tierney from Arsenal in 2019 and last summer when Al-Ittihad paid the same amount for Jota.
The player in question who could be on the move this summer is Celtic’s superb midfielder Matt O’Riley, who had yet another brilliant season for the Scottish Premiership champions.
In the league this season, the Danish midfielder scored an outstanding 18 league goals and provided a further 13 assists. He also provided three assists in the Champions League, too. This has naturally led to interest from elsewhere.
European clubs circling In January, HITC reported that Atletico Madrid were one of the sides pushing hard for the Danish midfielder and Diego Simeone’s side are understood to still remain interested.
Celtic would ideally like to keep O’Riley but they recognise the interest in him is strong. HITC understands that a plethora of English clubs have enquired about his availability this summer, too. French side AS Monaco and Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart are also understood to have declared their interest.
This has been O’Riley’s breakthrough season for the Scottish side and losing the Danish midfielder would represent a huge blow for boss Brendan Rodgers, who won the league and cup double this campaign.
Premier League sides interest As mentioned, it is not only some of Europe’s elite who are keen on the Danish midfielder but Premier League clubs are also understood to be keen on the 23-year-old.
There are three clubs, in particular, who are understood to be showing the most interest and these are Brighton & Hove Albion, West Ham United and Thomas Frank’s Brentford.
Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United and Unai Emery’s Aston Villa have watched the midfielder in the past but, as it stands, both of these sides have different priorities heading into the summer window.
O’Riley’s sale would generate a large fee for the Scottish side and they will need to invest these funds into adequate replacements for the 23-year-old.
