Matt O’Riley made ‘increased bid’ as Liverpool competition intensifies for Celtic midfielder

Liverpool have been linked with Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley. But time could be running out if he wants to strike a deal, with multiple bids for him.

Outside of the Scottish top flight, O’Riley is a relatively unknown quantity. But the former Fulham academy prospect has just had a hugely successful season with Celtic, winning Denmark caps and scoring 18 times from midfield in the league.

Liverpool have actually been credited with transfer interest in 2022. That could mean he was originally on a Michael Edwards shortlist and it wouldn’t be surprising to learn that records have been kept of him at Anfield in the intervening years .

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And if there was ever a time to act, it might be now, with Edwards back in the fold and O’Riley having just had such a brilliant campaign. At 23, he looks ready for the next step in his career – even if former Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers insists Celtic do not need to sell.

But if Liverpool are really interested, they need to move on. His form has not gone unnoticed and Atalanta look particularly keen to secure his services.

According to Gianluca di Marzio, the Serie A side have now submitted three offers to Celtic. He is most recently worth $18.5m (£14.5m/€17m).

Furthermore, O’Riley has agreed a draft five-year contract with Atalanta. After suffering defeat in the Europa League last season, Liverpool will now not want to come second in the transfer market.

Liverpool.com says: Of course, Liverpool would not ‘lose’ to Atalanta if they had never intended to make a bid. And that is certainly a possibility given the huge step required from Celtic straight to Anfield.

Perhaps more pertinently than that, O’Riley doesn’t fill a particular positional need for Liverpool. In fact, he signed three players in generally comparable form last summer, adding Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch; if Arne Slot enters the midfield market, it will surely be for a number six specialist.

It probably depends on how high Liverpool think O’Riley’s ceiling is. He’s very believable to keep tabs, but he’ll move without a team slot for him if he thinks he’s got a lot more levels to find. Atalanta would be an intriguing transfer for him.