It is no secret that Russell Martin is an admirer of Celtic midfielder Matt O'Riley and he has already been linked with a move to St Mary's, however the Danish International is in big demand and it will potentially take a Scottish Record transfer fee to secure his signature.

The media in Scotland are stoking up the Matt O'Riley transfer saga and The Daily Record are claiming that Southampton are about to put in a bid that will smash the Scottish transfer record.

That is currently set at around the £27 million mark and indeed that would be a Saints club record if they were to pay that, but it seems that Matt O'Riley is top of Russell Martin's shopping list this summer.

Celtic seem resigned to losing the midfielder and are clearly briefing the media to try and stir up a bidding war, Southampton are said to not be the only club interested, Brighton are also named plus Juventus, Inter Milan Atalanta and Atletico Madrid.

But it is Saints whom the Scottish press seem to think are the most serious about landing the Danish International, who is actually English and born in Hounslow, playing one game for Fulham before joining MK Dons where he first came to the attention of Russell Martin.

Saints and indeed Russell Martin seem keen to make this deal happen, O'Riley is currently valued around the £20 million mark and that may well be the starting point for a formal bid, however it seems that Celtic will turn that down and hope to start a bidding war, but it seems that this is not phasing Southampton.

Photo: Action Images

ExiledSupporter added 11:09 - Jul 22 I certainly hope this is true ie. both that we are seriously interested in this guy, and that he is interested in us and that we are prepared to pay the asking price or thereabouts that a real quality player justifies. Despite my high regard for SA his fitness record was far from perfect and other than him it is a long while since we had an attacking No 10 , let alone one capable of such a high goal scoring/assist record. I'm keeping my fingers crossed, but it is the hope that kills you in football...especially with the Saints since I first watched them in 1966/67

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saintmark1976 added 11:24 - Jul 22 Why do we want to spend on a midfielder when Goal scoring wise:- When he last played in The Premiership Adam Armstrong found it difficult to hit a barn door with a banjo. Che Adams has departed. Ross Stewart appears injury prone and is a complete unknown. The wee man not even training with us. Shouldn’t we be looking to invest in at least one additional forward, although please not Danny Ings.

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underweststand added 12:01 - Jul 22 OUCH !..well saint mark has just about ditched all of the Saints striker force.. Oh! you forgot Mara (but I wouldn't dispute that decision). Not sure what your ideal striker looks like? ..but even if we got Ings for nothing, his salary might blow away the buffer we have for other players not yet joined.
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underweststand added 12:11 - Jul 22 Oh ..forgot this thread was about the possible / potential / probable record-breaking fee for a player little-known to many - except perhaps Russell Martin. On paper he may look the part, and so let's hope it works out well to everyone's benefit.
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Saidou added 12:42 - Jul 22 I don’t like these club record signings because they most don’t succeed. Get proper strikers in. Enough of midfielders.
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Monksway added 13:18 - Jul 22 Still hoping there is a place for Charley Alcaraz but if this signing goes through I think he'll be off.
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ItchenNorth added 13:41 - Jul 22 We certainly do need a striker this summer but we need strengthening in midfield. The bottom line is that without a strong midfield you can't protect your defence or create for you forwards. It's no point buying a striker if they don't get the opportunities to score. We can't expect to out score teams in the Premier League.
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