Matt O'Riley gives ‘green light’ to Italian club amid Celtic exit talks

Clubs around Europe are believed to be interested in signing Matt O'Riley. He was Celtic's best player last season by a country mile and that kind of form has caught the attention of some of European football's biggest clubs. The Hoops turned down an offer from Atletico Madrid in the winter but it is hard to imagine that the Danish midfielder would pass up on that sort of an opportunity this summer.

In fact, it looks like O'Riley is open to the idea of leaving Celtic. Of course, any interested clubs would have to agree a transfer fee with the Hoops first.

Atalanta are one of the clubs who have been heavily linked with O'Riley in recent times. And as it turns out, O'Riley seems to be willing to move to the Italian club.

As reported by 67 Hail Hail, journalist Luca Bendoni said about the O'Riley and Atalanta situation:

"The second offer [from Atalanta] was around £15m and that was, of course, rejected. Celtic are expecting a much higher fee.

“Atalanta are negotiating as Matt O’Riley is their top target for the midfield. They are pushing for him.

“O’Riley has already given the green light, his approval, to an Atalanta move should there be a concrete possibility of agreeing a fee between the two clubs.

“He has also already basically given his green light to a long-term project that should be around five years.

“But he has given his green light to the move."

Matt O'Riley gives ‘green light’ to Italian club amid Celtic exit talks

Atalanta have a great recent record when it comes to player development. So, it is not hard to see why O'Riley would be interested in joining the Italian club as the next step in his career.

O'Riley has been very smart when it comes to mapping out his career. He left the Premier League to join MK Dons, who were in League One at that point. But his performances there earned him a move to Celtic.

He has proven himself as a top talent at Celtic as well. And now, it looks like he will be headed to one of the top five European leagues next.

Most Celtic fans would like to see O'Riley remain at the club for another season. But as things stand, that is starting to feel very unlikely. Never say never in football though.