No team has come "anywhere near" Celtic's valuation of Matt O'Riley, Brendan Rodgers has confirmed.
The Danish midfielder, 23, has been subject to interest from clubs across Europe, with Atalanta and Southampton having official transfer bids rejected this far.
Celtic want at least £25million for their prized asset. But it's believed the top offers have been well short of that, with Atalanta proposing £17m.
Speaking with Sky Sports prior to the Scottish Premiership kicking-off this weekend, Rodgers outlined the need for interested clubs to respect the value of the player they will be receiving rather than the league they happen to come from.
And he knows too well how often side’s from more prestigious division will try short change smaller leagues having experienced the opposite end of the coin whilst managing in the English Premier League with Liverpool and Leicester City before pitching up at Celtic for a second spell last summer.
Read more:
- Celtic 'frustration' as Bueno transfer pursuit hits roadblock
- Celtic transfer bids for Johnston's Canada team-mate 'rejected'
"It’s actually been straightforward with Matt because he’s such a great professional," said a defiant Rodgers.
"I think what is always the challenge for teams coming to a team like Celtic is that they can place a value on the league and not the player. I’ve already told the club that.
"We all understand the model here - players will come in and develop. It’s not a club that you have to move on from, but there are riches in other leagues much richer than ours that allow players to go and improve the conditions of their lives.
"We all understand that, but it’s really important that if a player does leave here we are paid for the value of the players, and that’s sometimes something that can not happen.
"Sometimes a value will come in that’s a lot less. I’ve worked in the Premier League, I understand the levels there and the players’ value. No player will leave unless it’s for the right valuation. At this point in time, there’s been no team that’s been anywhere near it."
Read more:
- Celtic target Idah makes Norwich apology as manager explains AWOL row
- Celtic outline Matt O'Riley transfer non-negotiable to Southampton
Despite all the talk of O'Riley's potential departure, Rodgers revealed that Celtic are edging closer to the permanent acquisition of Paulo Bernardo from Benfica, with the Hoops boss even suggesting an announcement was only a "matter of hours away".
"Hopefully, it is a matter of hours as he is due back to have a medical and hopefully everything will go well with that," he stated.
"We still have work to do. With transfers, there are lots of moving parts and it is never as easy as seeing a player and just bringing him in but we would hope by the end of August that we would have the team set up the way we want it.
"It is so important as you cannot snooze in the game of football and we want to be developing and improving. We want to ensure that we have an improved squad for the season in order to take on all the challenges we have."
