West Ham will need to pay in excess of £25m to sign Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley, according to Sky Sports.

The TV channel claim that the Scottish champions will demand a “record fee” for the 23-year-old, having received £25m from the sale of Jota to Al-Ittihad last summer.

It is believed that the Hammers have scouted O’Riley in every Champions League group fixture he has played in this season.

Despite Celtic winning just 1 of their 6 games, the Danish international still picked up 3 assists. His performances have been even more impressive in the Scottish Premiership, where he has bagged 9 goals and 5 assists in 17 appearances.

West Ham will have to battle other clubs for O’Riley

Sky Sports report that Serie A giants Inter Milan are seriously contemplating making an offer for the midfielder, although they are hoping that Celtic will accept a loan deal with an obligation to buy at the end of the season.

Aston Villa, Atletico Madrid and PSV Eindhoven have also been keeping close tabs on O’Riley, along with the Irons. It should be pointed out that the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool, Newcastle and Crystal Palace have been credited with an interest in the player over the past 12 months too.

Signing a striker will be a priority in January

Despite West Ham clearly having an interest in O’Riley, it is believed that bringing in a new No.9 will be the main focus of the club’s transfer activities next month.

Manager David Moyes has decided to start Jarrod Bowen up front in the absence of the injured Michail Antonio and technical director Tim Steidten has been looking at ways to reinforce the club’s forward options.

In recent days, the likes of Stuttgart’s Serhou Guirassy and Bournemouth’s Dominic Solanke have been linked with a switch to the London Stadium.