Celtic are braced for Matt O’Riley’s exit after Brighton ramped up the bidding war for the Parkhead playmaker - and they have a contingency plan in place if he does leave.
The English Premier League outfit have made their move to open talks over a £25m plus move for the Denmark international. Celtic won’t allow O’RIley to leave on the cheap after seeing off several attempts rom Serie A Atalanta – with the Italians eventually giving up the chase following a final bid of around £20m.
Brighton will have no problems meeting the asking price and the Hoops understand it will be difficult if the 23-year-old is sweet on the switch.
O’Riley has insisted he is in no hurry to leave Celts but has long term ambitions of playing in one of Europe’s major leagues, having already attracted serious attention from Italy, Spain and Germany.