All 10 clubs linked with Matt O’Riley as strength of Celtic’s hand becomes crystal clear

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The chat surrounding Matt O’Riley and his Celtic future has dominated the headlines this summer.

The 23-year-old midfielder has become of of the hottest properties at Celtic after coming off the back of a great personal season at the club.

19 goals and 18 assists in both the domestic competitions and the Champions League have alerted top clubs from England and Europe to the Celtic midfielder and it seems that Brendan Rodgers faces a battle to keep a hold of his star player.

Or does he? Because for all the huge names that have been linked, with the season set to kick off in just under two weeks time, O’Riley seems happy and settled at the club which can only be a positive for Celtic.

Liverpool, Atalanta and more all linked to Celtic hero

Atalanta is the club that is leading all the transfer chat surrounding O’Riley at the moment. The Serie A side are keen on the Celtic midfielder and seem determined to get their man.

Juventus have also been mentioned as have Roma and Inter Milan as Italian clubs line up to entice O’Riley away from Paradise.

But those clubs will need to join the back of the queue as English Premier League sides join the chase. We discussed how Southampton are looking to ‘push the boat out’ to land the Denmark international as well as Leicester City, Brighton and Liverpool.

There is also interest from La Liga as long-term admirers Atletico Madrid keep an eye on O’Riley’s situation as well as Girona.

And whilst the Celtic fans may glance nervously at that list, Celtic do have a strong upper hand in regards to their player.

Celtic’s strength over Matt O’Riley’s situation

The first, and most obvious strength is that O’Riley is still contracted to 2027. This gives Celtic a big upper hand in terms of negotiating a fee for their best player.

With Atletico Madrid and Atalanta both having big-money bids knocked back already, it is clear that Celtic are in no mood to entertain offers lower than what they value O’Riley at.

Another factor that is going in Celtic’s favour is that O’Riley, despite all the speculation, is happy at Parkhead.

After being given the captain’s armband for the DC United game, the Dane said was ‘very happy’ to have been bestowed that honour. His demeanour and body language in the interview did not have give off the vibe of a player who is itching for his next big move.

Last, but not least, Brendan Rodgers has also praised O’Riley’s attitude despite the intense speculation rating it as ‘first class’ and how O’Riley is a ‘fantastic professional‘ and knowing how much of a ‘privilege’ it is to play for Celtic.

This also means that the midfielder is still focused on the job at hand and is not allowing the transfer talk to unsettle him.

So as it stands, as the speculation ramps up, it is Celtic who are in the driving seat and if O’Riley does decide to leave then, and only then, it will only be on the clubs’ terms.