Leeds United: £25m Matt O'Riley transfer mooted at Elland Road on one condition
Leeds United must achieve promotion to the Premier League this season if they want to sign Celtic star Matt O'Riley in the summer transfer window, according to Carlton Palmer.
The former Leeds man insisted that O'Riley would not consider a move to either Leeds or Southampton while the clubs remain in the Championship.
However, should they get promoted, Palmer believes a £25million deal should be enough to convince Celtic to let him go after a £10million bid from Atletico Madrid was turned down in January.
Speaking to Football League World [28 March], Palmer shared: "Leeds United and a lot of clubs, are keeping a keen eye on Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley. He’s having a fantastic season at Celtic.
"He’s a player that Brendan Rodgers wants to keep, he’s playing Champions League football, so I don’t think he will drop down to play in the Championship. Southampton or Leeds United, if they were keen to sign, would have to be in the Premier League.
"I think Matt O’Riley would only move from Celtic to the Premier League and it will take a sizable fee for that to happen. Already, Celtic have turned down £10 million in the January transfer window from Atletico Madrid.
"So, if he is available and Celtic were to let him go, they will be looking for a fee of about £20-to-25 million for his signature."
Would Matt O'Riley join Leeds United from Celtic?
Leeds' interest in O'Riley first emerged in last summer's transfer window, when a reported "big-money" deadline-day bid was made in an attempt to secure a last-ditch deal for the Celtic star at Elland Road.
Since then, the midfielder has scored 11 goals and provided 10 assists in the Scottish Premiership, attracting interest from one of Europe's elite clubs in Atletico Madrid, so any deal would be seen as a real coup for Leeds.
Firstly, though, there remains the matter of achieving promotion to the Premier League. With Leeds currently occupying top spot, they will need to ensure their form remains positive for the rest of the season to achieve automatic promotion.
If they cannot hold on to the top two places, they will have to go up via the playoffs - a competition which has not been kind to Leeds in recent history - and Daniel Farke will be keen to avoid the additional stress involved.
In other Leeds United news, Ally McCoist has shared a new Leeds promotion verdict.
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