- Juventus have eyed Celtic’s Matt O’Riley as a backup to Teun Koopmeiners, with the Hoops braced to lose huge talent in their midfield.
- Atalanta made bid for O’Riley, though Juve are likely to pursue a move if their deal for Koopmeiners falls through.
- Celtic could face a huge challenge retaining O’Riley with Serie A clubs and Atletico Madrid showing interest.
Celtic star Matt O’Riley has garnered a lot of interest in his services over the past year, with huge European clubs all taking a keen look at securing his signature by the end of the transfer window – and reports have suggested that Juventus have joined the race for the Denmark star with just over six weeks to go in the transfer market.
O’Riley’s incredible performances played a huge part in the Hoops securing a third-straight title win, and a first in Brendan Rodgers’ second spell as boss after Ange Postecoglou had given him the foundations to continue their domination of the league title over the past decade. The midfielder was on fire from start to finish in the Scottish Premiership, and that has seen clubs across Europe sit up and take notice – with reports that Juventus are the latest side to make their interest known.
Juventus Show Interest in Celtic’s Matt O’Riley
The midfielder has been on the radar of top European sides
The report from Tuttosport states that Juventus are the latest side to show an interest in signing the Celtic midfielder, with the Turin-based side frustrated in their attempts to sign Atalanta star Teun Koopmeiners. O’Riley has emerged as another option should they fail to get a deal for the Dutchman over the line, following his outstanding season for the Hoops that saw him register 31 goal involvements from central midfield in the league alone.
Atalanta, incidentally, were reported to have made a bid for O’Riley last week with Koopmeiners thought to be moving to Juventus, but if the ‘Old Lady’ can’t stump up a fee for the Netherlands metronome, they will turn their attentions to Atalanta’s top target in O’Riley ahead of a summer move.
Koopmeiners would double his wages if he was to move to Juventus, according to the report, but the right offer has not come in just yet and that has led them to draw up a list of possible alternatives in O’Riley and Frosinone midfielder Marco Brescianini.
Celtic Would Loathe to Lose O’Riley
The midfielder is their most important player without doubt
O’Riley would be a huge loss to Celtic if he was to depart this summer. 31 goal contributions from midfield is almost impossible to replace, and having worked extremely well in tandem with Reo Hatate and Callum McGregor in the midfield trio, his late runs into the box and knack of being in the right place at the right time as a box-to-box midfielder will sorely be missed at Celtic Park if he does make the move – with the star being dubbed as Celtic’s ‘most important player’ over Kyogo Furuhashi.
It’s easy to see why big clubs in Serie A are after him. Not only are Juventus and Atalanta keen on a move should the Koopmeiners situation sort itself out, but top-flight title winners Inter Milan are also thought to be keen on a move – alongside Spanish giants Atletico Madrid, who reportedly had a bid rejected for his services back in January.
| Matt O’Riley’s Premiership statistics – Celtic squad ranking | ||
| Stats | Output | Squad rank |
| Goals | 18 | 1st |
| Assists | 13 | 1st |
| Key Passes Per Game | 2.5 | 1st |
| Shots Per Game | 2.9 | 1st |
| Through Balls Per Game | 0.2 | =1st |
| Match rating | 7.74 | 1st |
The Hoops are favourites to win the title next season, especially with Rangers manager Philippe Clement reportedly having to sell players in order to buy reinforcements in the summer – but the potential exit of O’Riley could throw a spanner in the works if they don’t replace him adequately with little time to prepare before the season starts in three weeks’ time.
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