4 months ago
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Enthusiastic hugger: Check! | Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images
Bookmakers are famously reliable and odds always reflect real probability.
Consider the source, a subtle and toned down Al Pacino character once said, and it’s as relevant when evaluating transfer rumours as it is when reading scripture. In the modern media landscape, clicks are the order of the day, for the advertisers must get what they pay for, and thus accuracy and fidelity are consistently given second billing.
The transfer window is open, Liverpool have ambitions of winning titles and a gap to close, and so incoming transfer business is expected to take place before the season kicks off less than four weeks from now. Exactly which areas of the team should be prioritised remain a subject of hot debate, particularly since a football has hardly yet been kicked under the stewardship of new head coach Arne Slot, and it is difficult to say what the team needs at the moment.
That won’t stop the rumour mill, though, and the most recent batch has been triggered by the bookmakers, as odds were slashed today on Matt O’Riley joining the club. The 22-year old currently plies his trade north of the border, and was arguably the best player in the SPL last season, as Brendan Rodgers continued Ange Postecoglu’s work and Celtic secured a third consecutive league title.
The London-born Danish international racked up an impressive 19 goals and 18 assists from the right side of the Bhoys’ midfield three, while establishing himself as truly undroppable, racking up 4,300 minutes as he featured in 49 of the club’s 50 fixtures across all competitions. A rare combination of size, work rate, skill and end product saw the Fulham youth product — who featured for the Cottagers alongside Harvey Elliott and Fabio Carvalho years ago — dominate to an extent that suggests a move to bigger league is on the cards.
No transfer fee has been suggested yet, and competition from Atalanta and Southampton has been rumoured, but should noises begin to emanate from more substantive sources than Betfair, O’Riley is a prospect that could fit the Reds’ recruitment strategy.
