Brendan Rodgers has insisted he is "relaxed" despite transfer interest in Matt O'Riley this summer.

The Celtic midfielder, 23, is wanted by Atalanta with one transfer offer reportedly rejected by Parkhead chiefs this summer.

There is an expectation the Serie A club could return to the table with an improved offer but reports suggest Celtic chiefs will stand firm on their valuation.

O'Riley is a key player at Celtic and scored a double in the pre-season win over DC United. And Rodgers insists "first-class professional" O'Riley won't be distracted by transfer speculation.

The Celtic manager added that Celtic are a "very difficult club to leave" as he responded to interest O'Riley with a firm take on the situation.

Read more: 

As quoted by The Scottish Sun, Rodgers said: "Celtic is a club where you can move on but you don’t have to and it’s a very difficult club to move on from.

“I think we all understand, the people close to Celtic, the model Celtic works to.

“Matt’s been at the club for three years, he’s developed into the player he has and he knows the privilege it is to play for Celtic.

“Of course naturally how it works is the player gets that opportunity to move on.

“Naturally with the wages that are on offer for players then that makes it a real challenge for Celtic to compete at that level.

“But what I’ve seen with Matt is he’s a first-class professional. He’s a really humble guy who’s really devoted to his profession and he knows what he has here.

“We’re all quite relaxed about it. Every player has a value but we see him as a really important player and while he’s here we’ll continue to develop him and improve.”