Samaras 'certain' O'Riley is OUT as Celtic give personal South Korea plea the boot - Parkhead news bulletin

Former Celtic striker Georgios Samaras reckons Matt O'Riley is OUT this summer - and explained why he's '100 per cent' sure of it.

O'Riley is one of the frontrunners for SPFL Player of the Season after stepping up to the plate under Brendan Rodgers. Atletico Madrid and Inter were among the interested parties in January but Celtic set their stall out and refused to sell for anything less than £25m. But it seems likely the vultures will come circling again this summer with O'Riley's form continuing to impress.

Samaras knows that when O'Riley does eventually leave, it will only be for a mega fee, like the huge deals that took Kieran Tierney to Arsenal and Jota to Al-Ittihad. But he's certain it will be this summer once a thrilling title race with Rangers is concluded. Samaras exclusively told Ladbrokes Fanzone: "I'm 100 per cent sure Matt O'Riley will leave the club at the end of this season. He's out. He had a great season last year, he's had another fantastic season this time around, and we're clearly seeing him develop year on year. He came from League One in England and he's giving his team something every single week... he's so talented. His goals, his assists, his general performances... I think he's at the peak of his Celtic career. Now, the best thing for him, and the club, is to go and find the best offer for him in the summer.

"He can play in any team, that's for sure. OK, it would be more difficult to play for any of the top four in England, and he's probably not ready yet to join those clubs - but I have no doubt in his ability to go and perform at a similar level in the Premier League. It'll be a case of who can afford him...

"Celtic have a very expensive asset in Matt O'Riley, so I've no doubt they'll get a huge transfer fee for him. And I'm not just talking about the Premier League, by the way; this is a guy who I could see in Spain, Portugal, Germany, Italy... any of their big clubs, I can see him going and standing out anywhere in Europe.

"Celtic sell expensive. In the last 15 years or so, clubs from all around Europe, and further, have spent big to sign Celtic players. I don't know about the exact price, but I know it'll be a lot for O'Riley. Celtic know how to sell, and they know how to buy. Ever since I've known the club, I've had nothing but confidence in them when it comes to selling players for the right price, and I've got no doubt they'll do the same when it comes to Matt.

"The good thing for anyone leaving Celtic for a big club somewhere in Europe is that they won't need to adapt to the pressure and expectation of a huge crowd, or the experience of playing European football, because they'll have had all of that at Celtic."

Elsewhere South Korea Olympic boss Hwang Seon-hong revealed he even visited Glasgow and pleaded with Celtic to release Yang Hyun-jun for the Under 23s Asian Cup...to no avail.

The Hoops refused to release Yang for the tournament in Qatar, which doubles up as qualifiers for the football tournament in the Paris Olympics. He would have missed up to four games in the title run-up and this weekend's Scottish Cup semi final with Aberdeen. Celtic were also joined by Brentford and Stoke City in not allowing their players to go to the Finals because it wasn't during a FIFA international date. And disappointed Korean boss Hwang admitted he was so desperate to get Yang he even went to visit Celtic personally to state his case.

He said: "I went to Europe myself ahead of the tournament and negotiated with of all the clubs where we had players to ask them for help and allow us to select their player. Unfortunately, as you can see, I was not successful.

"It is disappointing and an unfortunate situation. It is now difficult because the replacement players are joining up in Qatar a little late, but this is also a task that must be overcome. It's an opportunity for the K-League players who have replaced the European-based ones to show what they can do."