Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers will surely be hoping to go through the summer transfer window without having to sell one of his key players.
The Northern Irish boss lost Jota to Al Ittihad and Carl Starfelt to Celta Vigo ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, and is currently at risk of losing Matt O'Riley this time around.
After an impressive year in the Scottish Premiership, the Denmark international is now attracting interest from elsewhere ahead of a potential exit from Parkhead.
How much Matt O'Riley is worth
Sky Sports reported earlier this month that Celtic believe that the midfielder is worth a club-record transfer fee of at least £25m, which was the same fee that was paid for Kieran Tierney and Jota by Arsenal and Al Ittihad respectively.
The outlet claimed that Atalanta and Juventus are both interested in a potential swoop to sign the former MK Dons central midfielder this summer.
Interest from Europe in O'Riley should not come as a surprise to anyone after his terrific exploits in the Premiership for Rodgers and Celtic last season.
Appearances
37
Goals
18
Big chances missed
10
Conversion rate
17%
Assists
13
Big chances created
14
As you can see in the table above, the 23-year-old magician produced consistent quality at the top end of the pitch with a staggering 31 direct goal contributions in 37 games.
Celtic, though, could have had another player worth as much as O'Riley if they had not had a howler with academy talent many, many, years ago.
Celtic's Andy Robertson howler
Current Liverpool star Andy Robertson revealed back in 2013 that the Hoops let him go at U15 level as they deemed him to be too small to make it as a professional footballer for them.
He then enjoyed spells with Queen's Park and Dundee United in Scotland before making a move to England to try his luck with Hull, which then earned him a big switch to Liverpool in the summer of 2017.
Since his move to Anfield, Robertson has racked up 11 goals and 65 assists in 297 appearances for the club in all competitions, with his 300th Liverpool outing seemingly to come this season.
The Scotland international has won the Champions League and the Premier League during his time in Merseyside, alongside two League Cup successes and an FA Cup.
At the time of writing, Transfermarkt currently has his market value at €30m (£25m) and this means that he is worth as much as Celtic believe O'Riley to be worth at this moment in time.
This illustrates the howler the Scottish giants had when they decided to send him on his way at U15 level for being too small. Instead of waiting to see how he physically developed across the next few age groups, they parted ways with the talented youngster.
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Their loss ended up by the gain for multiple clubs and he has gone on to become a "world class" – per Jurgen Klopp – player in England, as he has won trophies and become an influential player for a huge club in the Premier League.
Hopefully, the Bhoys have learned from that mistake and will not dismiss potential talents due to their height at such a young age in the future.
