In a fascinating twist of Celtic camaraderie, Neil Lennon, has urged current Tottenham head honcho and former hoops gaffer Celtic, Ange Postecoglou, to steer clear of Celtic’s gem, Matt O’Riley, in the January transfer window.
Ange, the man who initially brought O’Riley from MK Dons to Parkhead two years ago for a modest £1.5 million, is now one of Celtic’s top players and prized assets.
Cited by SunSport, Lennon couldn’t hide his admiration for Postecoglou’s work at Spurs, saying, “The job Ange did at Celtic was great. The fans loved his style of play, the all-out attack, the rotations — and you can see that style being implemented at Tottenham as well.” He praised the Aussie’s knack for turning Tottenham into contenders for the top four, a testament to his great year and brilliant recruitment, including standout names like Guglielmo Vicario, Micky van de Ven, and James Maddison.
But when it comes to O’Riley, Lennon playfully pleads, “I just want him to stay away from Matt O’Riley for the time being, please and thank you very much!”. Lennon has a clear message for Celtic: resist January’s temptations and aim for a record-breaking £30 million in the summer.
He couldn’t help but heap praise on O’Riley, noting, “Under Brendan he’s scoring a lot of goals, and creating so many opportunities for the team. He’s always a threat, and he’s got a real knack of making those late runs into the box, undetected.”
For Lennon, the key is to hold onto this fantastic talent at least until the season’s end, acknowledging that while progress can’t be halted, a summer move might be inevitable. With O’Riley shining brightly, especially in the Champions League, Lennon believes he’s worth every penny of the £25-30 million valuation.
“He’s proven himself at the highest level, in the Champions League.
“He’s been the best player in Scotland this season — so you’re looking at £25-30m for him, at least.”
For Celtic fans, they’ll not welcome any bids in January or the summer but there is pragmatism among the support knowing we can’t hold onto top players forever.
