Brendan Rodgers has publicly addressed the ongoing speculation surrounding Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley amid rumours of interest from Liverpool.
The Reds have reportedly been kept informed of the 23-year-old’s situation in Glasgow (Rudy Galetti), and the Scottish champions have already rejected two offers from Atalanta for the Denmark international (Sky Sports).
The former LFC boss was speaking about the player’s future during the Bhoys’ pre-season tour of USA, and while he did his best to downplay the speculation, he admitted that the club can find it challenging to retain their prized assets due to the superior financial packages on offer elsewhere.
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Rodgers said of O’Riley (via Liverpool Echo): “We’re all quite relaxed about it. Every player has a value but we see him as a really important player, and while he’s here, we’ll continue to develop him and improve. There’s no update. We’re fairly relaxed; you saw him in the game the other night.
“He’s working so well, but there’s nothing to report on him. I think we all understand the people close to Celtic understand the model Celtic works.
“Matt’s been at the club for three years; he’s developed into the player he has and he knows the privilege it is to play for Celtic, and of course, naturally how it works is the player gets that opportunity to move on.
“Celtic is a club where you can move on but you don’t have to, and it’s a very difficult club to move on from. But naturally, with the wages that are on offer for players, then that makes it a real challenge for Celtic to compete at that level.”
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Among the offers for O’Riley that Celtic have already rejected this year are £14.7m plus add-ons from Atalanta and £20m from Atletico Madrid (Sky Sports), which offers some indication as to what Liverpool would need to pay for him if they’re to prise him from Parkhead.
According to Salary Sport, the 23-year-old is earning £14,000 per week in Glasgow. The Reds should be comfortably able to offer him a substantial increase on that amount without running the risk of breaking their existing wage structure (Capology).
The Denmark international can play as a defensive midfielder, thus potentially ticking off one of LFC’s three priority positions in the summer transfer window, although he’s more often found in a central or attacking midfield role (Transfermarkt).
O’Riley is quite prolific for someone who generally doesn’t play in the forward line, racking up a very impressive tally of 19 goals and 18 assists for Celtic in all competitions last season (Transfermarkt).
While such returns mightn’t come as easily in the Premier League, it still suggests that he could chip in with a handsome G/A contribution if he were to join Liverpool in the next few weeks.
Rodgers’ comments indicate that the Bhoys are understandably eager to keep him, but there’s been an acknowledgement that a lucrative offer may be difficult to turn down. It’s now a question of how far Richard Hughes is willing to go in order to land the 23-year-old.
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