Celtic miss out on Argentinian ace in fresh O’Riley twist as EFL side beat Rangers to £5m striker target

Premier League side Leicester City are set to secure a loan move for highly-rated Argentinian international Facundo Buonanotte in a move which puts to bed any talk of a potential arrival at Parkhead this summer.

Buonanotte, who played 36 times across all competitions for Brighton last term, is reportedly valued at around £15m but Celtic are only able to afford a loan deal and were reportedly interested in landing the 19-year-old as a potential makeweight for Matt O’Riley to move the other way, via the Celtic Star.

O’Riley remains one of the most sought after players in Scottish football after an incredible individual campaign which saw him register 19 goals and 18 assists last season. The likes of Atletico Madrid, Atalanta, Roma and Southampton have all shown interest in signing the Hoops playmaker this year but recent reports from Italian sports website Alfredoperulla understand that Brighton are the most likely to meet the Hoops’ asking price of £25m.

The report states: “Matt O’Riley, Celtic’s jewel, is increasingly destined to leave his current club. Brighton, which has great financial availability, has always targeted O’Riley in the last few hours has reportedly represented an offer of £25m plus £4m in bonuses which is really close to what the Scottish club has always asked.”

Brighton are in the market for a goalscoring midfielder to replace Pascal Gross after his departure to Borussia Dortmund. However, at this stage it is not yet clear whether there is substance to these transfer claims. 

In a past interview Rodgers hinted that he would only allow the player to leave on a blockbuster fee and urged interested parties to “value the player, not the league.”

Middlesbrough beat Celtic and Rangers to top £5m target

English Championship promotion hopefuls Middlesbrough are expected to beat Celtic and Rangers to the signing of highly-rated Bristol City star Tommy Conway, according to reports from The Scotsman.

Scottish international Conway scored nine goals for Bristol City in the Championship last season to earn himself a place in Steve Clarke’s international squad for Euro 2024.

The 22-year-old has been absent throughout pre-season this summer after stalling on a new long-term deal at Ashton Gate. Head coach Liam Manning admitted that, while he wanted to keep the player at the club, there appeared to be a growing realisation he saw his future elsewhere with Burnley, Hull City, Stoke City, Celtic and Rangers all heavily tipped to make a move for the player.

Middlesbrough, however, appear to be the frontrunners and their offer of around £5m seems to be a sufficient amount to get the deal done. The only stumbling block in the issue at this stage is understood to be the structure of the deal, with Bristol City wanting the bulk of the payment upfront as opposed to receiving the deal in incentive based instalments.