Celtic have made a habit over the years of bringing in exciting young talent and selling them for profit after they have helped the club to achieve success on the pitch.
The likes of Virgil van Dijk, Jota, Moussa Dembele, and Odsonne Edouard, among others, were sold for significant fees, per Transfermarkt, after being developed at Parkhead.
Jota was sold to Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad last summer in a £25m deal, which made him the joint-most expensive sale in club history alongside Kieran Tierney's £25m move to Arsenal in 2019.
That record may not stand for too much longer as journalist Anthony Joseph, on The Celtic Exchange Podcast (02/02/2024), recently revealed that Celtic want a club-record fee for Matt O'Riley and suggested a valuation of up to £30m could be on the cards.
How much Celtic paid for O'Riley
The Scottish giants struck gold when they swooped to sign the impressive young midfielder from English League One side MK Dons for a fee reported to be £1.5m in January 2022.
He had produced seven goals and five assists in 26 third tier appearances during the first half of that season, and arrived as somewhat of a gamble for the Hoops.
There was no guarantee that the Danish whiz would be able to translate his form from the third division in England to the top-flight in Scotland but that is exactly what he did.
O'Riley managed four goals and two assists in 16 Scottish Premiership matches during the second half of that term and went on to rack up three goals and 12 assists in 38 league matches for the club last season.
O'Riley's current record valuation
As aforementioned, Joseph revealed that Celtic value O'Riley at a record fee of up to £30m, amid interest from Atletico Madrid and Leeds at various points throughout the season.
That £30m valuation means that his market value has soared by a staggering 1,900% from the initial £1.5m the club paid to sign him from MK Dons, and it will be interesting to see whether any teams decide to take the plunge to secure his services for that figure in the summer.
He has been in phenomenal form in the Premiership for Celtic so far this season and his attacking contributions could make him an attractive target for clubs, as the magician has the quality to impact matches on a regular basis.
Goals
Ten
First
Assists
Seven
Second
Big chances created
Six
Third
Key passes per game
2.4
Third
Sofascore rating
7.85
First
As you can see in the table above, O'Riley ranks highly within the current squad in a number of key attacking statistics, which perfectly illustrates how important he is to Brendan Rodgers as both a scorer and a creator of goals.
Therefore, it is understandable that Celtic value him at a record fee as he is crucial to what they do on the pitch, from an attacking perspective, from a central midfield position.
At the age of 23, the Denmark international also has plenty of time left ahead of him to develop and improve, which means that any prospective buyers would be getting an outstanding performer who also has the potential to get better.
Celtic struck gold when they snapped him up from MK Dons at the start of 2022 as he has been a key player on the pitch and, as a result, an extremely valuable asset ahead of the summer transfer window, with a club-record sale possibly on the cards for the exciting maestro.