Newcastle United were linked with Matt O’Riley during the summer, and Toon scouts are continuing to watch the Celtic midfielder.
The 21-year-old has been a Newcastle target all year, and was linked with a move to St James’ Park in January before he crossed the border and joined the Hoops.
He cost Celtic £1.5million in January, and has proven to be an absolute bargain. Now he is worth a lot more, and the Magpies are looking at him.
It was claimed late in the summer window by ESPN that Newcastle were the most likely club to make a move for him. They added that a bid of between £15million and £20million could tempt Celtic to sell.
That bid obviously didn’t arrive, but O’Riley is still the subject of interest from Toon officials.
Newcastle scouts watched O’Riley on Tuesday night
The young midfielder has been on international duty, playing for Denmark’s Under-21s side. Despite being born in England, O’Riley is eligible to play for Denmark thanks to his mother’s side of the family.
He is yet to represent the Danish senior side, but has been with the Under-21s since March.
His latest appearance came on Tuesday night, where the Denmark youngsters beat Croatia 2-1. It was actually O’Riley who scored the opening goal of the game, putting Denmark 1-0 up in the 10th minute.
O’Riley’s side went on to win on the night, but it was a two-legged affair with Croatia, who had won the first game 2-1 themselves. The tie went to penalties, with Croatia coming out on top.
That means O’Riley and Denmark won’t be at the Under-21 European Championships in Romania and Georgia next summer.
While it was a disappointing night for O’Riley, his goal and performance surely caught the eye of Newcastle. According to Football Scotland, Toon scouts were at the game.
They will have seen O’Riley scoring from midfield, which will no doubt have impressed the club’s officials. Newcastle need to more creativity to their midfield, which is why the likes of James Maddison are being targeted.
But O’Riley could be a cheaper alternative, and possibly prove to be a shrewd addition at St James’ Park. The Magpies have been smart in the transfer market since the takeover, and you would have to back O’Riley to be a hit on Tyneside if he did make the move.
He is thriving at Celtic where he is currently playing in the Champions League. He recently featured against Real Madrid, and was described as an ‘excellent footballer‘ after the game.
But sooner or later he will move, and Newcastle will hope they are at the front of the queue to sign him.
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