Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers was determined to keep hold of his star players during the January transfer window.
Despite interest from Premier League trio West Ham United, Nottingham Forest and Brentford alongside an unnamed Qatari club, Cameron Carter-Vickers committed his future to the club on a new five-and-a-half-year deal.
On the same token, the other main talking point during the winter market period was the future of Matt O’Riley, who also attracted high-profile suitors due to his exploits in green and white this season.
As we all know, Celtic rejected a bid from Spanish giants Atletico Madrid for his services, which took the form of an initial loan with an obligation to buy in the summer worth around £18 million, which was well short of our £25 million valuation.
Rodgers revealed the day after that the Bhoys had turned the offer down, stating: “There was that, but Matt is a player we don’t want to lose, and he won’t be going anywhere in January.”
Overall, the Denmark international has enjoyed a fine season in green and white, registering 11 goals and 15 assists in 39 appearances across all competitions, per Transfermarkt.
He has since recently been called up again to represent De Rød-Hvide in their friendly double-header against Switzerland and the Faroe Islands following his debut against Northern Ireland last November as he tries to book a spot on the plane to EURO 2024.
Celtic star Matt O’Riley opens up on failed Atletico Madrid bid
Former MK Dons man O’Riley has oozed consistency this campaign, earning 16 team of the week nominations and creating ten big chances for his teammates on league duty [Sofascore].
Unsurprisingly, the London-born man is viewed as a hot property around Europe, and he has now opened up on Atletico Madrid’s interest in his services alongside discussing his Celtic future in a recent interview.
He told Danish outlet Tipsbladet: “Celtic received an offer from them, and that was cool.”
O’Riley then went on to add: “I wasn’t really close to leaving because Celtic wanted more money. I’m not upset about it.
“For me, it was just cool that a club like them would want me. It’s not often you receive an offer from Atletico Madrid, so of course, it’s great. We have to see what happens.”
There is an inevitability that O’Riley will leave Celtic one day, given that our transfer model is based around buying for modest fees, honing talent, and maximising profit margins when we choose to sell players in the future.
Regardless of what may come to fruition or not this summer, O’Riley will continue to be a key player for Celtic in the present, which is all that matters as we look to secure the Scottish Premiership crown.