Celtic Backed To Secure “Huge Transfer Fee” For Midfielder As Manchester United And Other Clubs Circle

Ex-Celtic striker Georgios Samaras believes his former club will sell Matt O’Riley for a “huge transfer fee” this summer.

While he doesn’t believe the Denmark international is quite ready to play for one of the Premier League’s top 4, Samaras says that there will be plenty of clubs (both in England and on the continent) who will be interested in signing the midfielder:

“He can play in any team, that’s for sure. OK, it would be more difficult to play for any of the top four in England, and he’s probably not ready yet to join those clubs – but I have no doubt in his ability to go and perform at a similar level in the Premier League. It’ll be a case of who can afford him…”

“Celtic have a very expensive asset in Matt O’Riley, so I’ve no doubt they’ll get a huge transfer fee for him. And I’m not just talking about the Premier League, by the way; this is a guy who I could see in Spain, Portugal, Germany, Italy… any of their big clubs, I can see him going and standing out anywhere in Europe.”

How much could Celtic sell O’Riley for?

It is believed that the Scottish champions have rejected bids of £10m (from Leeds) and £18m (from Atletico Madrid) for O’Riley over the past twelve months.

The 23-year-old is one of Celtic’s prized assets and there are suggestions that the club are hoping to receive in excess of the £25m that Arsenal paid for Kieran Tierney back in 2018.

Which clubs are interested in the player?

In addition to Leeds and Atletico Madrid, the likes of Manchester United, Newcastle, Liverpool, Arsenal, Crystal Palace and Leicester have also reportedly kept close tabs on the Dane.

Whether any of these teams will step up their interest and make formal bids for O’Riley at the end of the season, we shall have to wait and see.

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David Tully

David Tully

David has worked as a football reporter for the last fifteen years. Having started as an intern at Snack Media, he then went on to become a freelancer, working on various different sites. At the start of 2023, he took up his current role as content writer for National World's Football News Network.