Celtic have reportedly rejected a third bid for Matt O'Riley from Atalanta.

The Serie A side had already seen their previous two offers knocked back by the Scottish Premiership champions.

However, the Italians tried their luck again with a third attempt - but this has been met with the same response.

Reports in Italy suggest the offer from the Europa League champions was worth €17m.

It seems this was not enough for the Parkhead board though, who are under no pressure to sell O'Riley this summer given he's contracted until the summer of 2027.

Celtic will stand firm to get top money for their Player of the Year last season but will be aware that there will be a right time to sell him in order to maximise the 23-year-old's value.

Atalanta aren't the only club keen on a move for O'Riley, with newly promoted Premier League team Southampton very much interested.

Russell Martin worked with O'Riley previously at MK Dons, and could look to use those connections in order to reunite at St Mary's.

Read more: 

Reports earlier this summer had suggested that they could offer up to £20m for the Denmark international, but no bids have been submitted yet.

Martin will have to be cute with the budget afforded to him by Saints bosses this summer, given they won't have the deepest pockets in the division.

He admitted: "We are not in a position where we're going to go and spend absolutely huge sums of money on players. I think Celtic want a lot of money for Matty as would I, as any club would if they had one of their top performances."

Saints gained promotion to England's top league by defeating Leeds United 1-0 in the Championship play-off final.