Renowned transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano reckons it’d take a Scottish record fee for any club to sign red-hot Celtic star Matt O’Riley.
O’Riley is winning plaudits for his performances in the Scottish Premiership and the UEFA Champions League this season.
He earned the man of the match award against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday night after assisting Kyogo Furuhashi’s goal with an outstanding defence-splitting pass in the opening stages.
Celtic reportedly rejected a £10m offer for the midfielder during the summer transfer window, which was said to have come from Leeds United.
Now, Romano reckons he is worth more than the massive fees Celtic received for Kieran Tierney and Jota.
He said on social media site X this Thursday afternoon: “Celtic gem Matt O’Riley, MOTM on Wednesday; having a great season with 6 goals, 4 assists as CM. He also got Denmark call up.
“Celtic, in a strong position as they just renewed his contract one month ago — it’d be a Scottish record transfer fee for any club interested.”
Celtic sold Jota and Tierney for fees of around £25m, meaning that any incoming bid for O’Riley would have to be a monster one for the Bhoys to consider selling.
O’Riley’s contract at Celtic doesn’t expire until 2027 and I doubt anyone at the club or within the support wants him to leave any time soon.
In modern football you can’t really legislate for receiving a massive bid – they could come in any transfer window – but hopefully we get to enjoy the midfielder for a year or two yet before he decides he wants to ply his trade elsewhere.
That being said, if he keeps performing at European level like he did last night, big-spending suitors will be registering serious interest.