Atletico Madrid submitted a surprise bid for Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley in the January transfer window, which was eventually turned down. It has not been ruled out that Los Colchoneros return for O’Riley in the summer though, and they know how much ground they have to make up.
At the time the offer was said to be a loan to buy option, but amid interest from Atletico, Inter and Leicester City, Celtic held onto O’Riley, turning down Atletico’s offer. Matteo Moretto has previously told Football España that Atletico are still looking for a central midfielder in the summer, and O’Riley looks to be one of the top targets in Europe this summer.
🗣️ Did you talk to Griezmann when he was working on his move to Barcelona and the return to Atletico?
🎙️ Diego Godín: “I talked before, during, and after, and I understood everything. It’s difficult for a fan who only sees it with passion to understand. He had the opportunity to… pic.twitter.com/IGdri8ndpO
— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) February 27, 2024
Now Tipsbladet have reported that the offer turned down by Celtic was for €21m. The Scottish champions have valued O’Riley at €29m, meaning the two sides must work out a compromise to make up the gap for any deal to be done. That fee would make O’Riley the third-most expensive sale in Scottish football history, behind Kieran Tierney’s move to Arsenal, and Jota’s move to Al-Ittihad.
Whether Atletico will sanction another large deal remains to be seen. They ended up spending in excess of €20m on teenage sensation Arthur Vermeeren, while they have also been closely linked with Mats Wieffer of Feyenoord. It does seem likely that O’Riley will move on in the summer, and will have multiple sides interested, so any deal will be a tricky ask.
