Celtic could sell Matt O’Riley to Newcastle for ‘sky-high’ fee but keep him at Parkhead – pundit
Newcastle United could sign Matt O’Riley for a “sky-high” fee and loan him back to Celtic.
That’s according to former Rangers and Scotland boss Alex McLeish, speaking exclusively to Football Insider about the midfielder’s future.
On 28 September, Football Scotland reported O’Riley was watched by Newcastle scouts as he played for Denmark Under-21s and scored against Croatia’s youth side.
The 21-year-old has made nine appearances in all competitions for Celtic this season and while he has failed to score, he has provided five assists for his teammates.
O’Riley joined the Hoops from MK Dons in January and made an immediate impact, scoring against Hearts on his Premiership debut.
McLeish claims O’Riley could join Newcastle but immediately be loaned back to Celtic to continue his development.
“He burst onto the scene in a very positive way,” McLeish told Football Insider’s Ben Wild.
“Like a lot of these you get snapped up by bigger teams and they put them back out on loan. Maybe Newcastle can do a deal with Celtic and leave him at Celtic until he develops into a top-class player.
“Maybe Eddie [Howe] would take him straight away. O’Riley is definitely one of many of the young lads in Scottish football at the moment who have been striving.
“Steve Clarke basically can pick from Premier League teams when doing his Scotland squad these days. This kid is really opening up the eyes of the Premier League and you would think Celtic would want to do some kind of deal where they hold onto him for some time.
“He is still just the new kid on the block and this speculation will make his price tag sky-high.
“Newcastle are the richest club in the world, or so they say.”
In other news, McAvennie has issued Ange Postecoglou claim after Celtic reveal – ‘what I’ve been told’.