Celtic transfer bulletin as Conor Gallagher knock back could have Matt O'Riley consequences

Another Atletico Madrid attempt to sign Matt O'Riley could be incoming in response to suffering a knock back elsewhere.

The La Liga outfit had hoped to tempt Chelsea into loaning them Conor Gallagher. The midfielder is in the final year of his contract at Stamford Bridge and has been linked with the likes of Newcastle, Tottenham and Aston Villa. Atleti are on the hunt for a midfielder but The Sun reports that the Blues are set to boot out a loan bid for Gallagher. Chelsea are seeking £50million for the England international and that's well out of Madrid's price range.

That could see them make another ove for O'Riley. A January enquiry, which involved a loan until the summer with an obligation to buy, was rejected by Celtic but the Madrid outfit's interest has not gone away. However, reports in Spain claim that Celtic value the Danish international at £33million and Atleti won't be going that high.However, they feel there is a deal to be done and are unlikely to be put off until they have exhausted all avenues.

Meanwhile Livingston boss Davie Martindale reckons James Penrice is good enough to eventually play for Celtic. The left was unveiled as Hearts' first summer signing on Tuesday and Martindale can see him making another step up to one of the big two in the future.

"He’s worked really, really hard at the defensive side of his game," he told the Hearts Standard. For me, I genuinely think Hearts have won a watch with him. This is me being really, really honest and people will maybe laugh at this but I can see James playing for Rangers, I can see James playing for Celtic. That’s how highly I rate him.

"He can look after the ball. Hearts are a top-three club so he wouldn’t look out of place playing for anyone in the top