The headlines surrounding Matt O’Riley’s potential move to Brighton from Celtic have been hitting the headlines hard this week.
With Brighton said to have offered £26m for O’Riley, it seems that Celtic could be seriously considering the record-breaking offer.
The latest update from Fabrizio Romano suggests the end-game for the Celtic hero‘s future is near and at his pre-match press conference today, Brighton boss, Fabian Hurzeler was asked about the O’Riley rumours.
Brighton boss coy on Celtic rumours
One journalist asked Hurzeler about the Matt O’Riley rumours as the Brighton boss was quizzed about the reports surrounding Celtic’s Danish international and two other reported targets for the Premier League club.
Smiling as he answered, Hurlezer said at Brighton’s press conference this morning, “I’m still happy with the squad and in the end, I only can work with the players who are here and that’s my focus.
“The other things I can’t I can’t influence. So I’m really focusing on the work of the players here. I’m really enjoying it, working with them.
“I think they try to improve every day, they have great attitude. They come here to the training ground with a positive energy and the other things I can’t influence and we will see what happens.”
Watching the press conference, although he looked coy, there was something in Hurzeler’s eyes that made me think a deal can’t be that far away from being done for O’Riley.
Or maybe I’m just reading far too much into his body language. It does seem like these rumours are set to come to fruition as the speculation surrounding O’Riley leaving Celtic for Brighton has been intense.
One can only hope that if he eventually does go, Brendan Rodgers has a chunk of the large fee Celtic are likely to get earmarked for a replacement as O’Riley will leave a gaping hole in the heart of the Hoops midfield.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
