Southampton are lining up a £20million bid for Matt O’Riley, talkSPORT understands.
The Celtic midfielder is being targeted as an addition following Saints’ promotion to the Premier League.
Russell Martin is keen to add quality to his side, something that he knows O’Riley, who has two appearances for Denmark’s national team to his name, will offer him.
The 23-year-old was signed by Martin while in charge of MK Dons, scoring three goals in 23 appearances before Martin moved to Swansea that summer.
O’Riley scored ten goals in 54 appearances for MK Dons before earning a £1.5million move to Celtic in January 2022.
Speaking in September 2022, Celtic star O’Riley heaped praise on ex-Rangers man Martin, saying that he had a huge impact on his career, saying: “He was a big influence on me at MK. He’s the first manager to really understand me as a player and more importantly as a person.
He added: “Russell is happy for me. He tries to tune in to all the games, even though he’s a manager at Swansea.”
Since then, the midfielder has scored 27 goals and offered 34 assists in 121 matches for Celtic.
In those two and a half years, O’Riley has helped the Bhoys to three Scottish Premiership titles, two Scottish Cups and one League Cup, as well as making 12 appearances in the Champions League.
Southampton have already been busy this summer, making two signings ahead of the new season.
Adam Lallana arrived on a free transfer after leaving Brighton, while Taylor Harwood-Bellis joined in a £20million deal that was triggered by their play-off final success over Leeds at Wembley.
The south coast club return to the Premier League after just one season away having been relegated in the 2022/23 campaign.