Reports linking former Celtic star Matt O’Riley with a move to Juventus have gathered pace in recent days but the deal is not as far down the road as some have suggested.
While the Italian giants are interested, they need to offload a midfielder before making any concrete approach, with Douglas Luiz widely tipped to be the one to depart. Until that happens, O’Riley’s potential switch is effectively on hold.
The midfielder’s time at Brighton since leaving Celtic last summer has been a mixed bag. Injuries and rotation under Fabian Hurzeler meant a stop-start first campaign in the Premier League, although O’Riley did start to get consistent minutes towards the back end of last season.
Fabrizio Romano has reported that O’Riley is keen on a move to Turin after talks were held to discuss the conditions of a deal. Juventus are believed to be considering a loan with an obligation to buy, and the 24-year-old is on a three-man shortlist for the Serie A club as they reshape their midfield.
It’s thought that those discussions have centred around a 5-year deal at £2.6m a year. Celtic could be due to get some of the fee, with CeltsAreHere understanding that there was a sell-on clause inserted into his transfer to Brighton.
The Dane spoke last week about Celtic, and how he still follows the from a far after he left last year.
“I still follow all the games. Even though I don’t post that much on social media, I’m still watching every single game and trying to keep tabs on them.
“I’m still in contact with people. It’s hard in football to keep contact with everybody because it moves so fast and things change, but I did make some good friends up there, and I’m still in contact with a lot of staff at Celtic, which has been nice.”
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