Journalist and transfer insider, Pete O'Rourke has shared a claim regarding Celtic midfielder Matt O'Riley and his future at the Parkhead club following recent links with Leicester City.

What's the talk?

Speaking to Football FanCast, O'Rourke had this to say on the matter.

"I'm sure Ange Postecoglou will be determined to keep Matt O'Riley, he was a revelation after they signed him in January from MK Dons, and he played a key part in their success in the second half of last season.

"I think with the offer of Champions League football this year with Celtic going into the group stages, I'm sure that will play a part in maybe persuading O'Riley to stay at least for another season.

"I'm sure Celtic fans will be hoping to see Matt O'Riley stay at the club for the foreseeable future."

As O'Rourke mentioned, Celtic signed O'Riley from MK Dons back in the previous January transfer window on a four-and-a-half-year deal worth an initial fee of £1.5m.

Since then, the 21-year-old has gone on to make 21 appearances for the Hoops across all competitions, scoring four goals and providing three assists along the way, highlighting his useful attacking talent from the middle of the pitch.

Good news for Celtic?

Even though the Hoops have been rather busy in terms of their transfer business throughout this latest summer transfer window, keeping hold of O'Riley could trump it all based on what the player has already begun to deliver for the team and what he could offer them for many years to come given his young age.

His latest performance for the Bhoys highlighted how much of a useful asset he is for the club as not only did he provide the assist for Stephen Welsh's early opening goal in the 2-0 win over Aberdeen, he also racked up six key passes in total with two shots on target and two tackles made.

This shows just how important he can be in terms of setting up goalscoring opportunities for the Hoops and why he'd be a big miss for them if he were to leave this summer.

After all, he had a huge impact on the side in 2021/22, scoring four and assisting two in 16 appearances.

Given how the Bhoys have said goodbye to Tom Rogic this summer, who showed during his time at Parkhead just how useful he can be when it came to scoring and assisting goals, it seems as though the Hoops already have their ideal replacement for him with O'Riley.

That further highlights his importance in the team and why having him at the club for as long as possible could be vital to their success in the future.