Celtic would accept an offer of £25million for midfield ace Matt O’Riley in the January transfer window.

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, former Rangers and Scotland defender Alan Hutton claimed that Scottish sides have to accept such huge fees for their star players when clubs come knocking.

As revealed by Football Insider (27 December), Brendan Rodgers’ side want £25million for the goalscoring sensation if they are to depart with him amid interest from West Ham United.

The Danish international has been a mainstay for the Hoops since he arrived from MK Dons in January 2022 for a reported £1.5million.

The 23-year-old is Celtic’s highest goal contributor in all competitions this season with a combined 18 goals and assists.

Hutton waxed lyrical about O’Riley who “ticks all the boxes” for Celtic, but was adamant that the club would let him go if his valuation was met.

“I think it’s really important they keep him moving forward,” he told Football Insider.

“You do not want to lose any talented players really in January.

“I wouldn’t quite say they’re building the team around him, but you can see he’s come to the front and that he’s a leader in that team.

“He scores goals, he gets around the field really well and he ticks all the boxes of a modern-day midfield player.

“If it comes down to it and someone comes in with a £25million-plus bid, I’d like to think he would be off.

“That’s the way it is in Scottish football – you can’t turn that sort of money down.

“If they can hold onto him in the summer, then you get the opportunity to try and replace him.

“But they wouldn’t want to sell any of these kinds of players because the league can hinge on these players.”

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