Liverpool have been briefed on one UK-based player who’s apparently of interest to Anfield chiefs.
Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley is a man in demand this summer, having already rejected an opening offer from Atalanta (Gazzetta dello Sport), and it seems that the Europa League winners aren’t the only team who admire the 23-year-old.
Italian journalist Rudy Galetti took to X on Friday afternoon to share his latest information on the Denmark international, for whom the transfer race is ‘still open’, with the Reds and Atletico Madrid both ‘well-informed’ about the player’s situation in Glasgow.
Matt #ORiley has been included on the lists of some clubs.
#Atalanta is the team that moved first for him, but the race for the #Celtic player is still open.
#Liverpool and #Atleti are well-informed about the situation of the midfielder. @APaglia7 pic.twitter.com/IJV36bcg6s
— Rudy Galetti (@RudyGaletti) July 19, 2024
We’d venture to suggest that O’Riley isn’t a name who many Liverpool fans would’ve earmarked as a transfer target this summer, although the same could’ve been said about Wataru Endo this time last year before his £16m move to Anfield in August.
The Dane is primarily a central midfielder but can also play as a number 6 or 10, and he contributed 19 goals and 18 assists for Celtic in all competitions last season, with only two of those being penalties (Transfermarkt).
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He was named as the Bhoys’ Player of the Year for 2023/24 and hailed for his ‘phenomenal’ consistency by his manager Brendan Rodgers (BBC), who of course was in charge of the Reds prior to Jurgen Klopp.
In addition to his impressive goal returns – even allowing for the relative paucity of some Scottish top-flight defences – O’Riley’s statistics out of possession also make for impressive reading.
As per FBref, the 23-year-old featured between the 76th and 82nd percentiles among midfielders outside of Europe’s top five leagues last season for tackles, interceptions, blocks and clearances per 90 minutes, complementing a threat in the final third with the workrate to win the ball for his team.
For now it appears that Liverpool’s apparent interest is at a very preliminary stage, and there mightn’t be any bid forthcoming even after the recruitment staff gather the requisite data on him, but he could be nonetheless be an intriguing name to keep an eye out for over the next six weeks.
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