Matt O'Riley 'increased offer' made as Liverpool competition ramps up for Celtic midfielder

Liverpool has been linked with Celtic midfielder Matt O'Riley. But time could be running out if it wants to strike a deal, with multiple bids going in for him .

Outside of the Scottish top flight, O'Riley is a relatively unknown quantity. But the former Fulham academy prospect just had a hugely successful season with Celtic, earning his first Denmark caps and scoring 18 times from midfield in the league.

Liverpool was actually credited with transfer interest back in 2022 . That might well mean he was originally on a Michael Edwards list, and it would be no surprise to learn that tabs have been kept on him at Anfield in the intervening years.

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And if ever there was a time to act, it may well be now, with Edwards back in the fold and O'Riley having just had such a brilliant campaign. At 23, he seems ready for the next step in his career — even if former Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers insists Celtic has no need to sell .

But if Liverpool is genuinely interested, it needs to get a move on. His form has not gone unnoticed, and Atalanta looks particularly keen to secure his services.

According to Gianluca di Marzio , the Serie A side has now tabled three bids to Celtic. The latest is worth $18.5m (£14.5m/€17m).

Moreover, O'Riley has agreed the outline of a five-year deal with Atalanta. Having suffered a Europa League defeat last season, Liverpool will not now want to come off second-best in the transfer market.

Liverpool.com says: Of course, Liverpool would not be "losing" to Atalanta if it never had any intention of making a bid. And that's certainly a possibility, given the huge step up required from Celtic straight to Anfield.

Perhaps more pertinently than that, O'Riley does not meet a particular positional need for Liverpool. In fact, it signed three players in a broadly comparable mold last summer, adding Alexis Mac Allister , Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch; if Arne Slot is to dip into the market in midfield, it will surely be for a specialist number six.

Much probably depends on just how high Liverpool thinks O'Riley's ceiling is. It's very believable that it is keeping tabs, but it will only move without having a clear space in the squad for him if it thinks he still has many more levels to find. Atalanta would be an intriguing transfer for him.