If Man Utd Want O’Riley They Should Make Celtic An Offer And Stop Briefing The Media.

The nonsense continues. Matt O’Riley, who scorched the stories linking him with a move, continues be linked with one and the thing of it is, not a single one of these links is based on anything concrete.

It is ridiculous.

I know it goes on, but when does someone from a club leaking to the media about interest in another player graduate to tapping?

You get sick of this. You get sick of these constant efforts to unsettle your footballers from clubs who will probably never put any cash on the table. People at Celtic should be giving these guys a straight up warning about this; put up or shut up.

We can make it easy on them.

Indeed, we already have by saying that he’s not available and is going nowhere.

That should be the final word on it.

We keep on hearing how our resolve will be tested.

Test it already. Try us. Actually make an offer – a ridiculous one, for sure, something that doesn’t come close to our valuation – and let us reject it. Dip a toe in the water and see how fast it gets bitten off.

Celtic will not sell a key player in this window, no matter the offer. Not this late, and not someone who has been at the club for less than a year and has shown no sign whatsoever of wanting to leave.

The idea is a joke. The arrogance behind it is worse.

But it should also be against the laws of the game to act this way, and although I know it is done and that we’ve done it ourselves you would cut a lot of this nonsensical speculation out if clubs were warned about it and punished for doing it.

All this chatter is an insult to us and to the player.

If Manchester United think he’s worth buying they should man up and make the attempt, otherwise all they are doing is pissing about in a manner which is wholly unacceptable.