Reports suggest that Celtic and Southampton are currently in negotiations regarding the potential transfer of Matt O’Riley. According to football journalist Jack Rosser, Southampton, who have recently been promoted to the Premier League, are eager to bring the Danish Internationalist to St Mary’s and are preparing to make a bid.
Rosser mentioned on Twitter/X that talks are ongoing, with discussions now involving the possibility of Shea Charles, a former Manchester City talent who currently plays for Southampton, being included in the deal.
Although Charles had a successful season at Southampton, making 38 appearances in all competitions, it is rumored that he could be heading to Celtic Park on a loan deal with an option to buy included to sweeten the deal.
However, Celtic may be hesitant to finalize this deal, considering Southampton paid a reported fee of £15m for Charles. The negotiations may need to be very favorable for Celtic to agree. There are also concerns about whether the player would want to move to a team likely to face relegation threats when there is interest from Serie A clubs.
O’Riley was a standout performer for Celtic under Brendan Rodgers, helping the team secure another Premiership title as well as the Scottish Cup. Despite his impressive performances, O’Riley narrowly missed out on the Scottish PFA award to Lawrence Shankland.
Since joining Celtic from MK Dons in January 2022, O’Riley has shown great attacking prowess, scoring 8 goals and assisting 16 times in 72 appearances under Ange Postecoglou. His partnership with Rodgers further improved his performance, resulting in 19 goals and 18 assists in just 49 appearances.
