Bidding war for Matt O’Riley to test Celtic’s resolve. That resolve won’t last long. At Celtic, if the price is right, then the price is right…

£25 million and £3 million, the magic numbers that dictate departures and arrivals at Celtic.

If we want to buy a player, we’re never willing to spend much more than £3 million.

If we’re tempted to sell one of our star performers, then it will take £25 million to pry them away from us.

Am I the only one who notices this?

Surely all of you have noticed this in the last few years?

So, just to shed some light on this theory of mine, have a read of this from today’s Record:

Atletico Madrid are keen on the Hoops midfielder and are eyeing a loan deal until the end of the season before making the switch to the Spanish capital permanent. Record Sport understands that the Premiership champions will boot out any attempts from Atleti, and are holding out for at least the £25million they banked for Portuguese star Jota last summer. That could prove too rich for Diego Simeone, who has already splashed £23m on teen star Arthur from Royal Antwerp.

And there you have it.

£25 million.

This is what the board is holding out for apparently.

So, the first question you’ve got to ask is this, is this the Record’s take on it?

Or have they plucked this figure out of historic record transfers for Celtic, i.e. Kieran Tierney, and Felipe Jota?

Or is this fact?

If a club comes in and says we’ll pay £25 million for O’Riley, then we’re to assume he’s gone?

Is that it?

Well, here’s my take on it, for what it’s worth.

It’s somewhere in between what the Record is saying, and what I really think the board’s stance will be on this.

The Record has previous for trying to start bidding wars for players, especially those of an Ibrox ilk.

Their M.O. is to try and start a bidding war for Ibrox players, so it will help that club to secure the kind of big money they so desperately need.

This has failed miserably in the not so distant past.

Remember this:

Then there was the humongous £30 million bid from Hebei fortune:

But we know what that particular mischief-making was designed to achieve, don’t we?

It was designed to try and secure big money for Morelos.

For a club that desperately needed it.

In the end, the portly Colombian departed the Ibrox club for nowt.

Nada, zero, zilch.

Despite all of the mischief-makers attempts to start bidding wars for him.

Believe me, there were more than just those two, but I don’t have all day here.

Now, when it comes to Celtic players, the Record takes the same approach.

Except that the likes of Ross Pilcher is desperate to start a bidding war in the hopes that Celtic will lose a top player.

Which will then afford a distinct advantage to the club they so desperately want to win the league.

Starting to see the picture?

So, when the Record starts harping on about bidding wars, then you really have to take that kind of reportage with a singular grain of salt.

Today, Mr. Pilcher got his story from that other wonderful publication, the Daily Mail.

Apparently, they have the inside track on this, and they know that several unnamed English big guns will be swooping in with mouth-watering bids for Matt O’Riley.

This story is coming from Celtic board mouthpiece, Stephen McGowan.

Now usually, McGowan has a bit of an inside track when comes to the machinations inside Celtic Park.

So, this is where the somewhere in between part of my take on it comes from.

There may be some veracity to what McGowan is saying.

There may even be some veracity to the £25 million benchmark figure.

The magic number.

The Record, however, will piggy back off this, and desperately try to start a “bidding war” for Matt O’Riley.

In the vain hopes he will leave, and then their favourite side will gain that distinct advantage I alluded to earlier.

There is no pulitzer prize reporting here from the Record.

This is copy and paste stenography at it’s most pathetic.

Pilcher is stealing a wage, if you ask me.

But that’s neither here nor there.

What is, is the fact that the magic number is being bandied about.

Should we be worried if Atletico Madrid and Diego Simeone raise their bid to £25 million?

Then, what happens if some cash rich EPL club comes in and offers say, £26 million?

A Scottish transfer record?

I’d say we should be very worried.

But that’s just my opinion, what do I know at the end of the day?

I’m just a lowly blogger, and I already touched on this in a recent article, when all of this Matt O’Riley speculation began with Girona’s interest in signing him.

However, theoretically, if a figure north of £25 million for Matt O’Riley was dangled in front of Peter Lawwell, what do you think would happen??

Do you think that might test his resolve somewhat?

I think you know the answer to that one, don’t you?

As a wise Dane once said at a press conference at Ibrox, “I think you all are clever lads, so you should understand it!”

£25 million.

The magic number.

If someone comes up with it, then we might just be down an Dane.

Just saying.