Tottenham now trying to sign 22-year-old who Leeds really wanted last summer, £25m+ needed

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Leeds United reportedly failed with a £10m bid for Celtic’s Matt O’Riley in the summer and now, it seems a move to the Premier League is in the offing – with TeamTalk reporting Tottenham are keen on O’Riley.

The 22-year-old has starred for Celtic over the last 18 months. Joining the club in January 2022 under now-Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou, he has gone on to have a hand in 34 goals in 86 Celtic games.

This season, he has really come to the fore. He has 10 goals and assists in 14 games. Six goals, four assists – including his glorious first-time assist for Kyogo in a 2-2 draw with Atletico Madrid last week.

According to Fabrizio Romano, interested parties will have to pay a record Scottish fee to sign O’Riley. North of £25m fees paid for Kieran Tierney and Jota, when they left to go to Arsenal and Al-Ittihad.

Leeds failed with £10m bid Matt O’Riley bid, Tottenham are keen

It comes after Sky Sports said Leeds tabled a fee of £10m for the London-born Denmark star – which was duly rejected. Now, Postecoglou wants a reunion at Spurs – but faces Premier League competition.

West Ham, Brighton and Brentford are also keen on signing O’Riley ahead of the January window. If they can convince Celtic of a possible mid-season sale, remains to be seen. He has a contract until 2027.

O’Riley might stick it out at Celtic until the summer but it looks nailed-on he will end up in the Premier League at some point. One thing is for sure, Leeds missed the chance to get him in the summer.

Indeed, a player that Neil Lennon told TNT Sports that Leeds were “really heavy on” in the last window. A shame that Leeds never got a deal over the line because clearly, we are now being priced out of a move.