SPANISH top-flight pacesetters Girona are the latest club to be linked with Celtic’s in-form playmaker Matt O’Riley.
Like Inter Milan just before the turn of the year and Leeds United in the summer, the champions will tell the La Liga leaders they are wasting their time.
Others have been impressed by the London-born Danish international who has been on fire since the campaign’s kick-off and has added 10 goals to his all-round qualities.
There has even been the daft tale of Aston Villa getting the go-ahead to bid £25million for O’Riley, a move dismissed in CQN over a fortnight ago.
LET US PREY…Matt O’Riley clasps his hands after scoring his tenth goal of the season in the 3-0 triumph over St Mirren in Paisley to get 2024 off to a winning start.
With 12 days to go in the current transfer window, stories will continue to emerge and the skilful operator, a £1.5million bargain buy from English third-tier MK Dons two years ago, will continue to feature in such tales until the deadline is passed.
The Hoops hierarchy are NOT interested in parting company with their 23-year-old middle-of-the-park gem at this stage of the season and will brace themselves for renewed interest in the summer.
Until then, clubs monitoring the form of O’Riley, who signed an enhanced contract in September until June 2027, will be told firmly: Hands off.
Interestingly, Catalonian outfit Girona are part of the City Football Group, an outfit the champions have done business with in the past including appointing Ange Postecoglou as manager in the summer of 2021.
That move was instigated by recruitment chief Mark Lawwell, with past ties to the Manchester City-backed organisation. With Eddie Howe stalling on making a decision, the deal was ratified by Peter Lawwell in his last piece of business as Celtic’s chief executive before returning as chairman 12 months ago.
O’Riley is reported to be perfectly happy at Parkhead and the Girona interest, as announced by Sky Sports, is bound to fail.
