‘They’ve been digging’: Journalist shares whether Leeds will make new bid for 22-year-old after £10m snub

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Leeds United could return with a second offer for Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley.

That is according to transfer insider Dean Jones, who provided an update on Leeds’ pursuit of O’Riley to Give Me Sport.

As per Sky Sports, Leeds have seen a £10 million offer for O’Riley turned down by Celtic, with the Scottish champions reaffirming their stance that he is not for sale.

However, Jones says that Leeds have been working on a potential deal for the last week and there is a chance they may return with a final offer.

Leeds brought in two new midfielders in Ilia Gruev and Glen Kamara on Thursday, but some added creativity from the number 10 position would not go amiss.

Jones says Leeds could return for O’Riley

Having provided 11 assists last season, O’Riley would certainly bring that creativity Leeds need and Jones says there could be a chance they return to Celtic with an improved bid.

He said: “The offer for Matt O’Riley from Leeds just doesn’t seem close to being tempting. He’s a player worth a lot more than £10m to them right now, especially as they re-stabilise for this season and look for a player that can give them drive. He’s 22, starts every week, it would be a disaster to lose him at this late stage of the window.

“I don’t mind Leeds trying their luck because I think it’s actually pretty good profiling in terms of finding a player that can help get them out of the division. But I don’t see they are going to get him with that kind of offer. They’ve been digging into this for a week, so maybe they’ll return one more time. Celtic will just hope this hasn’t unsettled him and gets him thinking about possibilities back in England right now.”

This is looking like an extremely difficult deal to pull off as Celtic clearly regard him as a vital player for their side, and so they are reluctant to let him go at such a late stage in the window.

However, if Leeds can somehow tempt them into accepting an offer, he would be a huge signing and exactly what Daniel Farke needs, with O’Riley already a cut above this division.