Atalanta are keen on signing Celtic’s Matt O’Riley this summer, but their approaches have so far been turned down by Brendan Rodgers’ side.
On Monday, Italian journalist Gianluca Di Marzio stated the Serie A side are preparing to make their third official offer for the 23-year-old. He also stated the Celtic star has already given his approval to join them.
Tuesday’s edition of Gazzetta dello Sport explains La Dea have followed the Celtic midfielder for a long time.
The Europa League winners made contact with his entourage, and last week they decided to enter the battle to sign him.
It’s claimed Celtic value the Denmark international at €27m [€24m plus €3m bonuses]. The Italian club had earlier made an offer of €15m plus €3m bonuses, which was rejected by Brendan Rodgers’ side.
They have raised the fixed part of the fee by €3m, taking the overall deal to €21m, in the last few hours.
It’s not enough.
There’s a difference of €5-6m between the clubs, but the newspaper says this also shows Atalanta’s concrete desire to secure O’Riley’s services.
Gazzetta say the pair were now ‘dancing’ around the difference, and there’s some confidence they can meet in the middle.
