Celtic star kicks off Premier League bidding war with Saints favoured in race against Chelsea and Brighton
Chelsea view Celtic star Matt O’Riley as a potential replacement for wantaway midfielder Connor Gallagher but face competition for his signature from Premier League rivals.
Southampton believe they could have the inside track on signing O’Riley considering their manager Russell Martin coached the player when he was at MK Dons.
Celtic have seemingly been willing to listen to offers for their star player but are unlikely to agree any sort of cut price deal especially with at least three Premier League teams showing interest.
Given that Adam Lallana has not yet appeared in preseason play and Stuart Armstrong departed the Saints earlier this summer due to contract expiration, Southampton supporters are eager to see their team immediately add attacking talent in the middle of the park.
While Martin might well have the ear of the player himself, Celtic will be well ware that O’Riley is a potential cash cow for the club given interest from the likes of Chelsea and Atalanta.
Celtic are under no pressure to sell for less than their valuation though and Southampton are believed to have tabled an offer in the region of £18m plus add-ons which could fall well short of the asking price.
The only two high-profile additions Southampton has made this summer are Flynn Downes and Taylor Harwood-Bellis, who signed for £20m and £18m, respectively, after spending last season on loan at the team.
Given the high level of interest in the 23-year-old, it is expected that the Saints will need to surpass both of those fees in order to sign O’Riley this summer.
Celtic’s record fee is the £25m they extracted from the sale of Kieran Tierney to Arsenal back in 2019 and the same fee was again received for Jota in 2023 albeit in installments.
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Chelsea and Southampton could both end up losing out on a deal if Brighton continue to make moves on the midfield talent.
Crucially the Seagulls are said to be willing to table an offer of £25m plus add-ons for the star and they could slip in ahead of their Premier League rivals if the deal is attractive to Celtic.
Transfer journalist Alan Nixon, claims that Brighton have already submitted a bid and could end up having to convince the player to sign on given the interest from Martin’s Saints and Chelsea.
“The Seagulls have been chasing the goalscoring Danish international since May and are now close to hitting a figure that the Glasgow giants accept,” Nixon revealed via his Patreon.
“And Brighton hope that O’Riley will fancy joining them despite a bid from his old boss Russell Martin at Southampton.”