By Alan Hutton

4th Oct, 2023 | 9:24am

Matt O'Riley and Celtic teammate to be sold for 'huge profit' after deal agreed - pundit

Celtic tied down Matt O’Riley and Reo Hatate to long-term contracts in order to sell them on for a huge profit.

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, former Rangers defender Alan Hutton said that Brendan Rodgers would have wanted to add more quality to his side during the summer window but insisted tying down key players is a step in the right direction.

On Saturday (30 September), the Hoops confirmed that O’Riley has put pen to paper on a new four-year deal at Parkhead.

The midfielder, who scored the winning goal against Motherwell at the weekend, follows in the footsteps of teammate Hatate who penned a new five-year deal with the Scottish champions.

According to the Sun (1 October), O’Riley’s new deal brings him in line with the club’s top earners after being awarded a huge pay rise in his new deal.

The news comes after Celtic announced a huge increase in profit and revenue following the last financial year but fans felt aggrieved by not seeing the money in the bank reflected in the spending over the summer.

When asked if the new player wages could be the reason for a lack of big money signings in the recent window, Hutton told Football Insider: “I think they would have been looking for both.

“If they could bring in a player for the right price that would make the squad stronger then they would have done that. Maybe they felt that those options were not quite there for them.

“As well as that, you have to reward your players that have done well for you and tie them down to longer contracts. One because they deserve it and two because you are going to get paid what you should be getting for them, by selling them for huge profits.“

In other news, winger wants to quit Celtic for good after talks with chiefs.