Celtic are no strangers to cashing in on their best players and Brendan Rodgers will know that there is a risk of them losing key performers before the end of the summer transfer window.
The Hoops have sold the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Victor Wanyama, Odsonne Edouard, Moussa Dembele, and Kieran Tierney over the years, whilst Jota and Carl Starfelt were both sold last summer.
There is now the possibility that the club's Player of the Year Matt O'Riley could depart from Parkhead over the coming weeks amid interest from the Premier League.
Journalist Alfie House claims that Southampton want to sign the Danish wizard and that agreeing on a fee with the Hoops is "possible". However, he adds that they may struggle to agree personal terms with the left-footed star.
It would be a big blow for Celtic to lose the talented ace as he produced 18 goals and 13 assists in 37 Scottish Premiership appearances during the 2023/24 campaign.
Celtic's interest in goalscoring midfielder
However, the Hoops could slightly ease the potential blow of selling O'Riley by securing a deal to sign reported transfer target Luke McCowan from Dundee.
Sky Sports journalist Anthony Joseph claimed last month that Celtic are one of a number of teams eyeing up the Scottish midfielder ahead of a possible swoop for his services.
The reporter added that clubs from the Championship in England and the MLS are also keeping tabs on his situation, which means that the Premiership champions could face plenty of competition for his signature.
Joseph stated that the central midfielder has one year left to run on his current contract with Dundee and that could open the door for the Bhoys to snap him up, as the Premiership side would otherwise risk losing him for nothing if they do not cash in now.
Why Luke McCowan could ease blow of losing Matt O'Riley
It would be a huge ask of the recruitment team to find a direct replacement for O'Riley after his astonishing return of 31 goal contributions in the top-flight last term.
What Celtic could, instead, do is recruit several players who could combine to replace the goals and assists that they would lose with the Danish maestro.
McCowan racked up ten goals and nine 'big chances' created in the Premiership for Dundee last season, which shows that he has the quality to make a big impact at the top end of the pitch from a midfield position.
Appearances
37
35
19
16
Goals
10
2
1
3
Assists
5
6
1
4
Big chances created
9
7
1
3
Key passes per game
1.6
1.4
0.4
1.1
As you can see in the table above, the 26-year-old SPFL goal threat would provide far more in the final third than Celtic's other options in midfield outside of O'Riley.
He scored far more goals and created more chances for his teammates each match, despite not playing for one of the two dominant teams in Scotland, and could thrive in a Hoops team that is competing for the title.
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Therefore, McCowan, who writer Kai Watson hailed as "tenacious", could help to ease the potential blow of O'Riley by coming in to offer a threat as a scorer and a creator of goals in the Premiership to play a part in making up for the attacking hole that the Dane's exit would leave.
Celtic would then, of course, need to add quality in other areas, possibly out wide and in the striker position, to cover the rest of the goals that they would likely be missing out on.