ATALANTA have been determined to sign Matt O’Riley from Celtic this summer.
But they now could be turning their attention to another target as they struggle to get the Hoops to deal on their star man.
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Celtic hero O’Riley is a man in demand this summer transfer window.
A whole host of clubs across Europe have been credited with an interest in signing the 23-year old midfielder.
Atletico Madrid were first out of the traps in January but the La Liga giants saw a bid rebuffed by Celtic.
As exclusively revealed by SunSport, newly promoted English Premier League outfit Southampton also tried their hand with a £14million-plus offer.
That too was rejected by Celtic and the Saints have now confirmed they are OUT of the running to sign O’Riley.
The likes of Brighton, Chelsea and Juventus also have an interest.
But it’s Europa League winners Atalanta who have been the most forceful to land O’Riley.
Despite making up to FIVE bids, the Serie A giants haven’t been able to get an offer accepted by Celtic.
It’s thought all of their offers have fallen short of the Hoops’ valuation of upwards of £25million.
Amid their failure to agree a deal to satisfy Celtic, could Atalanta be about to move on to another target?
Well, according to Fabrizio Romano, they have ‘asked for info’ on Lazar Samardzic.
Atalanta are desperate to land a new attacking midfield player with Teun Koopmeiners on his way out of the club.
All summer, the Netherlands international has been expected to join Juventus and an official bid has now been lodged by the Turin giants.
With Koopmeiners’ departure now becoming a reality, Atalanta’s need to land a new midfielder has become greater.
But while O’Riley remains a target, they now appear to be looking in the direction of Udinese star Samardzic.
Born in Germany and a former German youth international, Samardzic represents Serbia internationally and featured at Euro 2024.
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