Foxes of Leicester caught up with transfer journo Ekrem Konur. Here is what we learnt about Leicester City’s pursuit of Celtic star Matt O’Riley.
The Foxes are obviously in dire need of refreshment, energy, and reinforcements as their abysmal Premier League start has left them in a tight situation. With plenty of rumours flying – from goalkeepers to defenders – one might be the most shrewd pursuit of them all.
According to reports, the King Power club are entertaining a move for Celtic star Matt O’Riley. I shall briefly detail what we know about the player, and then reveal the exclusive information FoL have on the situation.
What to know about Leicester City target Matt O’Riley
Whenever identifying a talent for transfer, any analyst must consider positionality, a prolific nature, technical ability, stylistic preferences, value, and long term viability. Not all of these are easy to notice or evidentially state, so a lot will come down to the ‘eye test’. O’Riley certainly passes this eye test.
The 21-year-old is a breakout start at Celtic. Having started much of his early development and career at Fulham, he only joined the Scottish Premiership side in the 21/22 campaign. However, since then the talent has burst onto the scene.
The midfielder has appeared in every single one of Celtic’s ten matches so far – starting nine of those – and amassed a total of five assists. Once again, O’Riley seems to pass the eye test as far as involvement and contributions go.
Regarding placement, the England born Danish youth international offers a rather useful option. According to Transfermarkt, the player most appears as either a CM or AM: meaning some form of either deep or advanced playmaker in our case.
The 21-year-old gets everywhere on the pitch, usually progressing the ball further down the right flank. I would akin this stylistic preference to a box-to-box player with good passing. Very similar to Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall or Youri Tielemans. He progresses and creates.
What we learnt from Konur
In our exclusive chat with the transfer journalist, there are a few key points with serious ramifications upon both the likelihood and viability of the possible move. Firstly though, we should note the elephants in the room.
Two major negative points emerge from the most minimal of thinking: Brendan Rodgers and the contract situation. At this time, any discussions with the Scottish top dogs would be hard, as the team are still upset over what they see as a betrayal by the gaffer. On top of this, O’Riley has plenty of time on his contract.
Now then, Konur noted to us a key duality about the difficulty of the deal for both clubs:
"“Celtic don’t want to let him go… frankly, if Matt wants to leave, Celtic can’t keep him”"
The star only recently joined, and is proving to be a pivotal player in midfielder. From progressing the ball well to creating chances, the Under-21 Danish international is crucial to how the Glasgow-based side perform. Their style of play is determined by the talent.
Obviously, the Scottish side would never let the player go on the cheap. They want to keep such players so they can build a consistent squad to keep winning titles, while progressing further in European competition. However, with such a spotlight comes big eyes and big money: the club only paid £1.5million for his services, so even £10m would be a massive profit should Leicester offer it.
Importantly for the King Power club, they will have to act fast if they do wish to sign O’Riley. After all, they are not alone in their pursuit:
"“Two teams from the Italian league went to Scotland to watch a few games…. they did not want to give the names of the clubs”"
So then, the Foxes have competition from Italy should their interest be genuine. To be honest, from the prolific nature of his assists, I would assume that interest will grow as both the January and future summer transfer markets get closer and closer.
Although, we of course have no idea of the calibre of competition we shall face or the ferocity of that interest. All that matters is to identify whether the midfielder can fill the Tielemans-sized hole incoming and how to fund the deal in our current financial situation.
Of a final note, Leicester City have to weigh up what the possible cost and reward of the signing will be. Intangibly, the rewards could be massive: a technically gifted and already experienced player with a winning mentality is just what we need to replace the Belgian ‘Starman’. However, little is known of the costs.
"“They [Celtic] do not have a price tag set for now”"
We know how much Celtic paid for Matt O’Riley. We know how important he is to them. We know what the potential future value of the player is. So, what should be his current value? Well, it would seem even Glasgow does not know: the 21-year-old has not been there long enough to seriously consider selling or setting a value already.
Plus, as they do not wish to sell, it would likely be up to the King Power side to set the bar. It is up to the competition for the signature, the perceived value, and the hardball nature of any such talks. We will almost definitely pay over the odds.
Nevertheless, the deal could be worth it, and a refresh is certainly required. Let’s hope some of these difficulties can be overcome in time for a January move. A little optimism and energy would be nice to have in the supporter base.