After months of speculation about his future, Matt O'Riley is set to leave Celtic and join Brighton & Hove Albion in a Scottish record move. It means that the club are seeing their best player leave near the very end of the summer transfer window and have very little time left to bring in a replacement for the Danish international.
There have been suggestions that Celtic could sign not one but two players to fill the void left behind by O'Riley. They continue to be linked with Arne Engels of FC Augsburg.
On the other hand, as reported by Sky Sports, Celtic will resume negotiations to sign Mateusz Bogusz after LAFC’s cup final on Sunday. The two clubs have begun discussions over a potential deal already but the MLS club don’t wish to move forward until after they have played this weekend's game.
Bogusz is enjoying the best season of his career so far. He has played an instrumental part in getting LAFC to the Leagues Cup final, scoring in the semis.
Celtic to resume negotiations for £8 million player next week
Bogusz is a versatile player who can play as a forward, winger or number 10. He is in tremendous form right now. According to stats from Transfermarkt, he has scored 17 goals and provided 6 assists in 33 appearances this season.
The sample size of his form is not significant though. He turned 23 years of age and this is the first season where he is showing this kind of productivity in front of goal. Also, one has to wonder whether his game will translate to Scottish football.
There have been suggestions that LAFC would want a transfer fee north of £8 million to part ways with Bogusz. Of course, that is a significant figure but clubs know that Celtic have got money in the bank with O'Riley's record move coming up.