A couple of days we brought some Italian reports on Matt O’Riley together to show that Celtic have Atalanta on strings over the midfielder’s future, and are also holding up Teun Koopmeiners’ move to Juventus as a result.
Despite being in the Scottish Premiership, Celtic may right now be the most important club in the Serie A transfer window, with them and O’Riley being the first domino to nudge over and watch a row of other business being done.
Saturday’s edition of Gazzetta dello Sport has an article on Atalanta’s transfer business, with a section literally headlined ‘The Celtic Torment’.
Claims from the UK of Celtic now potentially wanting €30m plus €5m in bonuses are covered, and it’s stated that’s twice what Atalanta initially thought they’d have to pay.
At this stage, the Italian club would probably like to walk away with their tail between their legs, but much respected manager Gian Piero Gasperini really wants O’Riley so they continue to battle with Brendan Rodgers’ side.
