Chelsea linked with move for in-demand Celtic midfielder

A week after scoring against Chelsea Matt O’Riley is being linked with a move to the former EPL champions.

The list of clubs interested in the midfielder is growing on a weekly basis with Atalanta and Southampton appearing to be the clubs most interested.

O’Riley has been unaffected by the growing speculation with Brendan Rodgers well aware that it is more than background noise linking the midfielder with a move from Celtic.

If an offer of £25m or more comes in for the former Fulham and MK Dons man it is likely that seriies negotiations will get underway, in The Sun, Nixon reports:

CHELSEA have joined Celtic star Matt O’Riley’s growing list of admirers.

But Southampton boss Russell Martin hopes his strong relationship with the Hoops ace — after their time together at MK Dons — can help him win the race for his signature.

O’Riley scored against the Blues in Celtic’s 4-1 friendly win in the USA last week.

Now Chelsea have him on their wanted list as a potential replacement for Conor Gallagher, with the England midfielder set to leave.

Saints have already had a £14million bid rejected, but are likely to come back for the 23-year-old Denmark cap.

Brighton have been long-term admirers, and Crystal Palace are also watching the auction and may join.

Nixon is known as a transfer specialist with long established contacts throughout the English game.

With Celtic rejecting an offer from Atletico Madrid in January it looks like a transfer cycle could soon be underway.

On Thursday Celtic announced the signing of Paulo Bernardo from Benfica but the loss of O’Riley in the closing weeks of the transfer window would leave a huge hole in the Celtic midfield with the club notoriously slow moving when it comes to concluding signings.