THERE’S been a major twist in the race to sign Celtic star Matt O’Riley.
That’s after one club who have been chasing the midfielder confirmed they’ve pulled OUT of the race.
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O’Riley, Celtic’s main man, has been targeted by several clubs this summer after another superb season for the Hoops.
Europa League winners Atalanta have submitted several bids but still haven’t been able to persuade Celtic to accept.
A host of English clubs have also been linked too, ranging from Chelsea to Brighton.
So far, only one of those has made a concrete offer – newly promoted Southampton.
SunSport exclusively revealed last month that the Hoops had kicked-out a £14million-plus bid from the Saints for the 23-year old.
And now, in a dramatic twist, Southampton have pulled OUT of the race to sign O’Riley.
The club’s manager, Russell Martin, was asked about their standing on O’Riley.
And he confirmed that for now at least, they would NOT be going back to try and sign him.
Martin said: “We are not in the race right now.”
O’Riley is well known to Martin having worked together when the former Scotland defender was MK Dons manager.
It was from MK Dons that Celtic signed O’Riley in a £1.5million deal back in January 2022.