Celtic midfielder, Matt O’Riley, is a player who seems to be in demand if all the transfer reports are to be believed.
Clubs like Inter Milan, Manchester United and Atletico Madrid are all said to have been vying for his signature at one point or another with the La Liga giants having a bid rejected in January of this year.
Ever since his £1.5m move from MK Dons, O’Riley has looked like a class act at Celtic as he developed under Ange Postecoglou and kicked on even further with Brendan Rodgers in his second tenure at Paradise.
19 goals and 18 assists plus impressive performances in the Champions League made the Danish international one of the hottest properties at Celtic and as we discussed this morning, he could be the subject of a record-breaking bid from English Premier League newcomers, Southampton.
So as that news reverberated amongst the Celtic support, the Southampton fans also let their feelings be known about their club turning to the east end of Glasgow for yet another transfer move.
‘He’s some talent’: Southampton fans want Matt O’Riley
With the fee reported to be around the £20m mark rising to over £25m with add-ons and incentives, the Southampton fans are unanimous in their thoughts about buying the talented 23-year-old:
One Southampton fan urged the club to give the Celtic midfielder a massive pay hike when he said, “He’s currently on around £25k a week per reports I’m sure we can offer him near double that considering Jack Stephen’s is on £45k a week and some players at the club on near 70k a week?”
Another fan believes money should be no object in order to prise O’Riley from Celtic:
Another Saints fan admits he’s an admirer of the Demark international but would be surprised if his club spent anywhere near £30m for his services when he said, “I’d be pretty amazed if we signed Matt O’Riley.
“He turned down the chance of going to Atletico Madrid in January. I’d also be extremely surprised if we spent £30m on anyone this summer.
“He’s some talent but I just don’t see it.”
Need to correct his error by saying O’Riley didn’t turn down Atletico it was actually Celtic but the overall point he makes is still valid. He’s a huge fan.
Another fan is less optimistic about getting O’Riley at the reported price:
However this Southampton fan disagrees and in four magic words, sums up the sentiment of all Celtic fans this morning:
When you look at the amount of money being spent on players down south with no Champions League experience or winner’s medals around their necks then I have to agree with that last Southampton fan, £25m would be a bargain and Celtic, if they decided to give the go-ahead, would be short-changing themselves and the fans.
