Celtic to cash in again as Napoli eye £25m bid for Brighton’s Matt O’Riley

• Former Parkhead midfielder moved to English Premier League club last year
• Celtic are believed to have a 10-per-cent sell-on clause for the 24-year-old

By JOHN MCGARRY

Matt O’Riley is poised to net Celtic another transfer windfall this summer as Brighton weigh up a bumper offer from Napoli for his signature.

The Serie A champions have tabled an opening bid of £25.6million for the midfielder, with the Seagulls apparently open to selling the Danish international if the price is right.

Although the 24-year-old only joined Fabian Hurzeler’s side a year ago, it’s believed the Premier League club won’t stand in O’Riley’s way if his heart is set on joining Scott McTominay and Billy Gilmour at the Italian club.

While Napoli may have to submit an improved bid to get the deal done, Brighton are now willing to cash in on a player who cost them £25m from Celtic a year back.

It’s understood the Parkhead side would stand to net 10 per cent of the selling price – potentially seeing between £2.5m and £3m going into their coffers.

Celtic paid MK Dons £1.5m for the player in January 2022.

O’Riley won six major honours, scoring 27 goals, during his spell with Celtic 

Now O’Riley could be on the move again after just one season in the English Premier League

Across the course of two-and-a-half seasons in Glasgow, O’Riley won six major honours, scoring 27 goals and contributing 35 assists in 124 games.

Those statistics put him on Atalanta’s wanted list a year ago. After three failed bids, the former Fulham player moved back to England instead for a record fee for an outgoing Celtic player.

Roma, now managed by former Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini, have also been credited with an interest in the player this week.

O’Riley endured a difficult start to his time at Brighton when he was injured on his debut against Crawley Town in the League Cup in August.

While an enforced spell on the sidelines restricted him to just 11 starts for his new club, his talent has continued to win him admirers.

If the Napoli deal goes through, it will be the second time this summer that Celtic will have benefited from a former player moving clubs.

Jeremie Frimpong’s move from Bayer Leverkusen to Liverpool for £29.9m ensured Celtic netted around £5m more on a player they sold to the German club for £11m in 2021.

Meanwhile, Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers is closing in on his second deal of the summer, with Nordsjaelland forward Benjamin Nygren set to join Kieran Tierney as a new arrival at Parkhead.

Primarily a right winger, the 23-year-old Swede has scored 35 goals in 106 appearances for the Danish Superliga club.

A deal for Fulham forward Callum Osmand is believed to be nearing completion, with keeper Ross Doohan also set to return to his former club from Aberdeen.

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Celtic to cash in again as Napoli eye £25m bid for Brighton’s Matt O’Riley

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