Matt O'Riley was always going to be a man in demand this summer following a season which saw him swoop multiple prizes at Celtic's Player of the Year awards.
That was why it was such a shock when the midfielder was snubbed by Denmark for their Euro 2024 squad in June.
Nonetheless, the suitors are still queuing up for the 23-year-old, who scored in Celtic's 6-4 friendly win over Queen's Park on Wednesday.
Reports claim that Europa League holders, Atalanta, have now submitted an official proposal to sign the Dane. The Serie A outfit are prepared to lose Teun Koopmeiners, who is being chased by Juventus, and O'Riley could be a ready-made replacement to help spearhead their return to the Champions League.
Read more:
- Kyogo wants to improve Celtic conversion rate even after netting pre-season hat-trick
- Jonny Hayes takes up academy role in Celtic backroom staff reshuffle
However, there is intense competition to land the Dane's services - with English Premier League clubs also believed to be circling.
Southampton are thought to have tabled a £20million offer, but it could take a more lucrative bid for Brendan Rodgers to allow his star man to depart Celtic Park.
O'Riley is under contract at the Scottish Premiership champions until 2027.
After Celtic rejected Atletico Madrid's attempts to lure O'Riley away from the United Kingdom last January, the player admitted the speculation around his future did have an effect on him.
“If I’m being completely honest, the first two or three games after the transfer window mentally it was a slight challenge because I felt somewhat of added pressure on my shoulders, just slightly," he said.
"But then I realised I didn’t really know why I was putting extra pressure on myself. I didn’t really need to change anything. I kind of came away from that and focused on what I bring to the team. It clicked back into place again. Each season, regardless of it going well it will still pose a different challenge."
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel