Sources: Leicester City select James Maddison replacement by plotting gut-wrenching raid on Celtic

TEAMtalk staff 06 Jun 2023 6:42 PM

Leicester City are interested in Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley and see him as a potential replacement for James Maddison, TEAMtalk understands.

Leicester are set to part company with Maddison this summer and they are already looking at alternatives and we understand one of those is O’Riley.

O’Riley, 22, joined Celtic from MK Dons in January 2022 for a fee of £1.5 million and has impressed hugely since his move north of the border.

Celtic are eager to hang onto O’Riley, who represents Denmark under-21s internationally, but know that they would struggle to turn down a good bid.

The Scottish champions are already having to deal with the departure of manager Ange Postecoglou to Tottenham and it has now become clear that they could lose one of their key players to an English side too.

O’Riley got 14 assists and four goals from 52 appearances in all competitions for Celtic this season. In fact, he was Postecoglou’s most-used player in 2022-23.

Coincidentally, Postecoglou’s new club Tottenham have been mentioned as one of the suitors to take Maddison away from Leicester.

In turn, the Foxes could deprive Celtic of one of their key players, despite O’Riley being under contract until 2026.

Back in 2019, Leicester took Celtic’s manager Brendan Rodgers away, but he lost his job at the King Power Stadium earlier this year.

Several squad changes afoot at Leicester City

Leicester are ready to rebuild their squad after suffering relegation to the Championship. Recently, they confirmed they will be releasing Youri Tielemans, Caglar Soyuncu, Daniel Amartey, Nampalys Mendy, Ryan Bertrand, Ayoze Perez and Tete.

Talks are ongoing with club captain Jonny Evans about extending his deal beyond this month.

In terms of player sales, Maddison could be the biggest Leicester have to make after losing their Premier League status. The attacking midfielder has scored 203 appearances during his time with the club, scoring 55 goals and assisting 41 more.

At the age of 26, it would make sense from his perspective to continue in the top flight, so Leicester will have to react accordingly if they are to lose their number 10.

O’Riley, who was born in west London and came through the ranks at Fulham before making his name with MK Dons and earning his chance with Celtic, has been identified as someone who could fit the bill as a successor.

Leicester City Celtic James Maddison Matt O'Riley