Atalanta appear to be the frontrunner to sign Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley after Brighton & Hove Albion went elsewhere in their search for creative intuition.
The Seagulls have instead opted to bring in Brajan Gruda from Mainz in a deal worth in the region of £25 million.
Intriguingly, Southampton manager Russell Martin also confirmed that his side are no longer in the race to sign O’Riley this summer [The Sun].
Leaving Atalanta in pursuit, the Serie A side have previously seen a series of offers turned down for the Denmark international, who registered 19 goals and 18 assists last campaign for the Bhoys.
Continuing to firm up their advances, a new development has emerged involving the 2024 Europa League winners and their desire to land Brendan Rodgers’ prize asset.
Atalanta look to prize Matt O’Riley away from Celtic
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Atalanta are gaining confidence in pursuing O’Riley. They are now said to be a couple of million off the Bhoys valuation of around £25 million.
Teun Koopmeiners is said to be closing in on a move to Juventus for a fee of around £47 million. The Netherlands international took no part in their UEFA Super Cup final last night, where Real Madrid claimed the trophy in Warsaw courtesy of a 2-0 victory.
The Italian side are optimistic that they can unblock the path to signing O’Riley, with pivotal hours ahead to see if they can achieve that feat.
From the player’s perspective, Celtic’s prize asset would reportedly welcome the chance to join the Serie A outfit and aid their Champions League group stage campaign this term.
Celtic look to have Matt O’Riley contingencies in place
Yesterday, news broke of Celtic’s interest in Augsburg midfielder Arne Engels, who the Bundesliga outfit may look to cash in on this summer.
The 20-year-old is said to be one of Rodgers’ top targets before the window closes and can feature in central midfield, in a more advanced role or even at right-back.
Additionally, Celtic could submit an offer for Dundee’s Luke McCowan. The Dark Blues’ hierarchy believe the Bhoys are now set to launch a bid for the Greenock-born man, who has been rejected proposals from Hibernian and Bolton Wanderers this window.
With the Scottish Premiership outfit holding out for £1 million, the 26-year-old may well come in as a bargain pick-up to solidify the Hoops’ options in the engine room.
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