Neil Lennon shares how much Celtic will sell Matt O’Riley for in the summer transfer window

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Neil Lennon thinks Celtic will be able to secure a transfer fee of ‘£30 million’ for star playmaker, Matt O’Riley in the summer.

The 23-year-old has been in sensational form for Brendan Rodgers’ side this season and he could argue that he is the best player in Scotland right now.

That’s why Celtic had to turn away interest from Spanish giants Atletico Madrid in January, but of course, fans will now fear that worst that he will be gone in the summer.

From a financial perspective, it might just be too good to turn down, even if the powers that be at Parkhead would want to keep him on board.

After a January transfer window to forget for Celtic, the fans have voiced their concern and frustration at how the club is being run.

Many feel that the Treble winners lack that ambition to go to the ‘next level’, but Neil Lennon was quick to squash all of that down.

He used someone like Matt O’Riley as an example and how Celtic only paid £1.5 million for his services from MK Dons in 2022, as he told PLZ Soccer.

Yet fast forward to the present and the transfer fee on the Danish star’s head has quadrupled.

For Neil Lennon, that type of transfer proves that the here-and-now players, experienced players or ready-made players don’t need to be signed for the club to move forward.

Matt O’Riley’s future

“I will give you an example, Matt O’Riley,” said Lennon. “What was he, £1.5 million? There you go.

“He is going to go for £25-30 million. That’s brilliant recruitment and brilliant business. Brilliant development from Ange and Brendan. They (the board) could have sold him (by now).”

Signing the Matt O’Riley of today

Nobody is saying that Celtic should stop signing those development players. Continue to bring them in and watch them shine.

But look at O’Riley today, he wasn’t that player when he first arrived, it has taken a few years and coaches like Ange Postecoglou and Brendan Rodgers for him to reach this level.

Celtic fans want that player to arrive now, rather than wait a few years for him to develop and sell him as soon as he hits those Champions League levels.

That way, it will allow the team to continue its domination on the domestic stage and then also progress in Europe, otherwise, the club is standing still.