Hammers set to battle European giants for the signature of Celtic’s star

West Ham are set to battle European giants for the signature of Celtic’s star player

It seems that, as of right now, there are two very distinct possibilities regarding Lucas Paqueta’s future. He could either be cleared of any wrongdoing and complete a move to Manchester City or he could receive a punishment much worse than we saw for Ivan Toney and Tonali.

In either of these scenarios, West Ham need to sign a replacement for him this Summer. However, without knowing his future though, it makes it hard to assess how much money the recruitment team has to work with.

Nonetheless, West Ham are set to battle European giants Atletico Madrid for the signature of Celtic star Matt O’Riley when the window opens, according to Football Insider. The Spanish side reportedly had a bid rejected for him in January, but this hasn’t put them off and they’re said to be determined to secure his signature.

Alongside them, both Brighton and Everton are said to have shown interest, but the Hammers are in a much better position to sign him.

Across all competitions, the Hoops midfielder has scored 19 goals and assisted a further 18 – an absolutely ridiculous amount of goal involvements no matter the level.

With Celtic apparently in a strong financial position, they will be in no rush to sell their star player who still has 3 years left on his contract. You’d expect that it would take an offer of well over £20 million to get them to even think about letting O’Riley go – a risk for someone who has never proved himself in England.

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