Chelsea transfer latest: Celtic Matt O’Riley becomes summer target

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Liverpool interested 

Matt O’Riley is a man in demand this summer with Celtic already rebuffing three offers for their prized asset. Europa League winners Atalanta have seen several bids rejected and Southampton have also had an offer turned down with Chelsea also joining the race. But Celtic are in a strong negotiating position and boss Brendan Rodgers is adamant that the Scottish champions are ‘relaxed’ about the interest in the midfielder.

Speaking on their pre-season tour to America, Rodgers said:  “We’re all quite relaxed about it. Every player has a value but we see him as a really important player and while he’s here we’ll continue to develop him and improve. I think we all understand that the model Celtic has works. Celtic is a club where you can move on but you don’t have to and it’s a very difficult club to move on from. But naturally with the wages that are on offer for players then that makes it a real challenge for Celtic to compete at that level.” So what is O’Riley’s value to Celtic as Rodgers referenced and why is the 23-year-old in such high demand? Let’s assess the Danish midfielder’s rise and you can watch us discuss him in the video below! 

How much is Matt O’Riley worth? 

As discussed in the video above, O’Riley became the most valuable player ever in Scottish Premiership history in the last Transfermarkt update. The Celtic star’s valuation rose by €7 million in May’s update from €13m to the record total of €20m. As the graphic below illustrates, O’Riley overtook former Rangers duo Ryan Kent and Amad Diallo to become the most valuable player in Scottish Premiership history and Celtic are perfectly entitled to hold out for a higher fee than Atalanta have offered.

The Glasgow giants have an excellent track record of buying players for relatively modest fees before selling them for substantial profits across the last decade. Celtic have made €202m from player sales across the last ten seasons – more than €130m more than any other Scottish clubs – and it’s understood they are looking for a fee in excess of €25m to sell O’Riley. That figure would represent Celtic’s third highest sale in their history behind Jota and Kieran Tierney and they would net a massive profit on the €1.8m they paid MK Dons for O’Riley in January 2022. Celtic are a cash rich club and they are under relatively no pressure to sell despite it being their business model to develop players for profits.

Why are so many clubs interested in Matt O’Riley?

O’Riley has attracted significant interest due to his standout performances, especially last season. The Danish midfielder scored 19 goals and provided 18 assists across 49 appearances for Celtic as he stepped up to become their main man. To put O’Riley’s productivity into context, his 31 goal contributions in the league would’ve ranked him second behind Cole Palmer when compared to midfielders across the top five leagues – albeit the Scottish Premiership is a considerably lower level.

Despite Celtic continuing their poor European form last season, O’Riley was their shining light in the Champions League as he provided three assists to demonstrate his ability to perform at a higher level. Atlético Madrid had an approach for O’Riley rejected by Celtic in January but he admitted the interest affected him slightly as his performances tailed off before improving as the season ended. Although Atalanta are currently the main suitors for O’Riley, there’s also interest from across the continent with Chelsea now joining the race. With Conor Gallagher expected to depart for Atletico Madrid, O’Riley has been earmarked as a potential replacement and he excelled against the Stamford Bridge side in Celtic’s 4-1 pre-season win. English Premier League clubs are also monitoring the Celtic star with Southampton known admirers, while Everton and even Liverpool have been linked recently – although a move to Anfield is deemed highly unlikely. It seems inevitable that O’Riley will depart Glasgow this summer given Celtic’s business model and the interest in the midfielder but Parkhead chiefs should maintain their stance in holding out for a higher offer.