At the moment, Celtic have a lot to worry about themselves. The club seem to be on the verge of appointing a new permanent manager in the form of Wilfried Nancy. If things go according to plan, it could be made official by next week. On the other hand, the upcoming January transfer window is going to be very important as well as the Hoops need to rebuild and strengthen the squad urgently.
At the same time, they will be keeping an eye out on their former players as well. There is always a chance that they could land them a transfer windfall.
One such player who could be on the move this winter is Matt O'Riley. He joined Marseille on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion in the summer, and has impressed.
As reported by Sky Sports, Marseille want to hold talks with Brighton & Hove Albion about signing O’Riley permanently in January. The club do not have an option or obligation to buy included in the deal and are ready to accelerate discussions in the winter window to prevent him from going elsewhere next summer.
Ligue 1 giants want to sign Celtic fan favourite in January
O'Riley has put in impressive performances against teams like Real Madrid and PSG. So, it is not hard to understand why Marseille are keen to sign him on a permanent basis as soon as possible.
Now, Brighton & Hove Albion paid a fee in the region of €29 million to sign O'Riley from Celtic. One would that the club have a sell-on clause for anything more than that the Seagulls get out of a transfer. It remains to be seen how much Marseille are willing to pay to get a deal done this winter.
O'Riley was signed by Celtic from MK Dons, then in League One, for a £1.5 million transfer fee. So, it is safe to say that he has enjoyed quite the meteoric rise since.
Many might have also forgotten that he was not the first choice for Ange Postecoglou's side that winter. Instead, they had initially wanted to bring in Australian midfielder Riley McGree but he ended up joining Middlesbrough and has not done much of note since then. So, it worked out quite well for the Hoops.