Celtic’s Will Find Atletico’s Alleged “Offer” For O’Riley Hilariously Easy To Refuse.

The media is good for a laugh at times.

No sooner have they embarrassed themselves with a series of stories about how Liel Abada has “options” to go on loan to England at pitifully low-rent clubs, but they are embracing a new one. Celtic has received its first “offer” for Matt O’Riley, and apparently we have a decision to make. Not a tough decision though.

The decision apparently comes down to whether or not we laugh before or after we hang up the phone on Atletico Madrid. A loan with an option to buy? Are they joking? Are we being trolled by them, or by the folks who are reporting this?

When people in the media rubbed their hands together and predicted that we might need to consider a bid they surely were not talking about one like this.

It is a stinker. It’s an insult to the player as well. Celtic will not even entertain this. They wouldn’t have entertained a real bid if one had come in, but this is not a real bid by any stretch of the imagination. It’s like a bad joke. Anyone taking it seriously is off their nut.

Celtic has made its position clear as far as this window goes. No major player will be going out the door. Christ, this board should be under enough pressure for failing to deliver more than one signing. The fury that would rightly erupt if we punted a top star would be off the charts. How many times does the manager have to say no-one is for sale before people get it?

I have been growing more frustrated with every day that passes in this window, but none of that has to do with concern over players already at the club.

I could not be more relaxed on that front if I was sitting on a beach chair with a beer in one hand and my Kindle in the other.

We are not the club which is trying to flog players here there and everywhere and getting nowhere. With all that money in the bank and all the top stars on long term deals we hold the cards, all of them, and we can refuse any offer and know there’ll be no adverse effects.

I won’t even worry if we get a genuine offer for a player.

This is not that.

It doesn’t matter whether Madrid want him on loan to meet FFP regulations; if they need to worry about that stuff then to be frank, they can’t afford him anyway, and although if this story is accurate it’s clearly a newsworthy development, it is not one that will keep me up at night.