Just in: Leeds united have to pay a record fee for the player they want this summer
Clubs will now have to pay a Scottish record transfer fee to sign Leeds United
summer transfer target Matt O’Riley from Celtic.
That is according to Fabrizio Romano, who reported on Twitter earlier this
afternoon that Celtic are now in a strong position regarding O’Riley’s future after
he signed a new deal last month.
O’Riley was among the midfield players Leeds were looking to sign in the
summer and according to Sky Sports, even saw a £10 million offer knocked back by the Scottish champions.
Leeds did not return with an improved bid after that and instead moved to sign
Ilia Gruev and Glen Kamara for around what they were willing to pay for O’Riley
O’Riley would’ve arguably been the missing piece of the creative jigsaw in
the summer, but if they were to return in January, Celtic’s asking price is now
set to be way beyond what they could afford in the Championship.
Celtic would command record fee for Leeds target O’Riley
The 22-year-old has made a stunning start to the season with Celtic, having
scored six goals and provided four appearances across all competitions already.
On the same night Leeds were beaten by Stoke, O’Riley really announced himself
in the Champions League with an incredible assist for Kyogo to open the
scoring in Celtic’s draw with Atletico Madrid.
That sort of form is now likely to generate interest from clubs above
Leeds not only in terms of league, but also financially.
The only way Leeds may now be able to prise O’Riley to Elland Road is if they are
promoted to the Premier League this season, with the Championship unlikely to tempt him into leaving Celtic.
Of the players Leeds missed out on during the summer, this now feels like
the biggest disappointment as he is likely to be a player who will go onto do big things in his career.
