At points this summer it’s felt inevitable that Matt O’Riley will end up leaving Celtic before the end of the transfer window but there’s actually not much evidence for it.
Yes, many clubs are interested in his talent. We know that. Why wouldn’t they be? He had a stellar season last term scoring 19 goals and assisting 18 more.
He’s knocking on the door of the Danish national team and, still just 23, has plenty of room to develop at the elite level.
Yet, no one has coughed up the dough Celtic expect yet, Brendan Rodgers remains very relaxed about the situation and O’Riley himself is looking as focused as anyone in pre-season.
The manager laid out his stance on O’Riley in a media appearance this week, suggesting that he’s told the club not to entertain interested teams who are looking to set the midfielder’s value based on the league he plays in, rather than the talent he holds.
Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers on the Matt O’Riley noise
Speaking to Sky Sports, the manager said: “It’s been straightforward with Matt because he’s such a great professional. I think the challenge for teams coming to a club like Celtic is that they can sometimes place a value on the league and not the player. I’ve already said to the club.
“We all understand the model here, players will come in and develop. It’s not a club you have to move on from but there are riches in leagues much greater than ours that allow players to go and improve the conditions for their lives. We all understand that.
“I think it’s really important from my perspective that if a player does leave here, that they pay the value for the player. And that’s not something that sometimes can happen, sometimes a value will come in a lot less.
“I’ve worked in the Premier League, I understand the levels there and the players and what the values are, so no player will leave here unless it’s for the right valuation and at this moment in time there’s been no team anywhere near that.”
Rodgers’ transfer pedestal must be respected
A manager is always going to be bullish about retaining his most effective performers. However, Rodgers is speaking a lot of truth here in how Celtic should entertain bidders.
He clearly feels O’Riley is a player capable of performing consistently at the highest level – so why not demand a fee that reflects that?
The Scottish Premiership may not be as fashionable as other leagues but that shouldn’t hold Celtic back from valuing their players at the correct level. Especially in an age of ballooning TV deals that dwarf what’s available to Scotland.
The board will have their valuation too but they will hopefully trust Rodgers when he tells them that O’Riley cannot leave without a suitor paying serious money, potentially beyond what was raked in for Kieran Tierney and Jota.
The midfielder is on a long contract and showing the perfect attitude, there’s no reason for Celtic to sell themselves short.
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