Leicester City are pushing to win the race for Celtic star Matt O’Riley amid rival interest from Atalanta, Everton and Southampton, TEAMtalk can reveal.
O’Riley was born in London and came through the Fulham academy before going on to join MK Dons and then landing at Celtic in January 2022. The midfielder, who can play in any of the No 6, No 8 and No 10 roles, joined Celtic for an initial £1.5million in January 2022, and that transfer has proven to be a great piece of business.
O’Riley has since made a name for himself as one of the best players in the Scottish Premiership and arguably Celtic’s most valuable star.
The left-footed ace registered a hugely impressive 19 goals and 18 assists in 49 games for Celtic last term, helping the Hoops win a league and cup double.
O’Riley thought he had done enough to force his way into the Denmark squad for Euro 2024, as he is eligible to represent them through his mother’s side, but the 23-year-old narrowly missed the cut.
O’Riley has since decided that he wants to secure a big move this summer to put himself in the shop window more and ensure that he can become a crucial player for Denmark in the future.
Atalanta have held several rounds of talks with Celtic over a possible deal, but Leicester have since barged into the chase.
Sources have confirmed to TEAMtalk transfer correspondent Fraser Gillan that Leicester are in a strong position to land O’Riley and are pushing to forge an agreement with Celtic.
Leicester transfers: Matt O’Riley a key target
Everton and Southampton have also been named as potential suitors, but Leicester are now in the driving seat to snap him up.
Leicester have a big advantage over Atalanta as the player is keen on trying out the Premier League next.
O’Riley’s prospective transfer from Celtic to Leicester could see a transfer record fall, too. TEAMtalk can reveal that Celtic want more than £25m before letting their star man go.
The record for the Scottish Premiership’s most expensive departure is currently shared by Kieran Tierney and Jota, who both left Celtic in separate £25m deals. But O’Riley may soon eclipse that figure.
Should Leicester win the race for the 6ft 2in star, then he will likely replace Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall in their squad. Dewsbury-Hall had been close to joining Brighton earlier in the transfer window, only for Chelsea to swoop in and land him in a £30m transfer first.
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