Brighton & Hove Albion look determined not to lose another transfer battle to Premier League rivals Chelsea this summer.
Brighton have already seen Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who was a key target for the club, leave for Chelsea.
As a result, the Seagulls are still in need of another midfielder and are now interested in signing someone who is back on Chelsea’s radar.
However, it is claimed that Chelsea will not sign another midfielder to replace the departing Conor Gallagher.
Gallagher, now in the final year of his contract at Stamford Bridge, is close to joining Atletico Madrid.
Brighton & Hove Albion are in talks to sign Matt O’Riley from Celtic
It stands to reason that Chelsea will not go all out for another midfielder; they just signed at Dewsbury-Hall.
The 25-year-old, like Gallagher, is practically a midfielder and at Dewsbury-Hall, the Chelsea fans are already applauding him after his unofficial debut against Club America.
This should make life a lot easier for Brighton as they look to bring O’Riley to the Amex Stadium before the end of the transfer window.
According to Sky Sports, Brighton are in talks with Celtic over a deal for the Denmark international.
A report from AS in June, when Atletico were monitoring him, claimed that Celtic valued the midfielder at €40m (£34.3m).
Chelsea can afford Matt O’Riley to join Brighton & Hove Albion
Chelsea really don’t need to get into another transfer battle with Brighton and Fabian Hurzeler over O’Riley.
As they have Dewsbury-Hall, Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez, Enzo Maresca will be without the 23-year-old.
Chelsea must focus on bringing in another centre-forward, which they clearly are doing.
Samu Omorodion remains high on Chelsea’s list and you can expect the Atletico Madrid player or another number 9 to arrive before the Blues even consider signing a new midfielder.
Not necessarily, but when Chelsea sense a good chance, they usually attack. So supporters will have to wait and see what happens with this one.