Leeds boss Daniel Farke was keen on strengthening his midfield this summer and Celtic’s O’Riley was a player the Whites tried for towards the end of the window.

It is suggested that Leeds submitted a bid for the 24-year-old, but Celtic promptly rejected it as Brendan Rodgers considers O’Riley an important part of his squad.

Ferguson admitted that O’Riley impressed him with his performance against Rangers at the weekend and stated that he understands why Leeds were keen on landing him this summer.

The former Premier League midfielder also added that certain Celtic fans would be delighted if O’Riley commits his long-term future to the Bhoys.

“He is one of the players probably fans do not know much about; he came from League One and he jas certainly impressed myself and plenty of people in Scotland ”, Ferguson said on the Go Radio Football Show.

“I can see why Leeds came in and there was a fair bit of interest.

“I am sure Celtic fans will be absolutely delighted with that [if he signs a new contract].”

The midfielder provided the pass for Kyogo Furuhashi’s goal at the weekend to help Celtic triumph over their city rivals Rangers.

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Martin O’Neill delivers Celtic Champions League and title race predictions

The former Hoops boss gave his views on his old side’s chances

Martin O’Neill fancies Celtic to make it to the Champions League knockouts this season.

The Hoops don’t have it easy in Group E alongside Atletico Madrid, Lazio and Feyenoord but it also have been a whole lot worse and they will at least feel they have a chance of progression. Celtic haven’t made it past the group since the 2012-13 season when Neil Lennon masterminded victory over Barcelona and qualification from another tough group.

Ange Postecoglou’s side were deemed to have a chance last season but ended up finishing bottom of their section with no points so Brendan Rodgers will look to do better this time out. O’Neill, who guided them to a UEFA Cup final, reckons they’ve got a great chance.

“They are going to give themselves a great chance of making the knockout stage, and that would be huge, because Celtic thrive on those Euro nights.

“Things haven’t been so good in recent years in terms of results in Europe, so it would be great if they could rectify that this season.

O’Neill has also rubbed it in for Rangers fans a bit after a “bad couple of days” and feels taht Celtic having Brendan Rodgers gives them a huge advantage over their rivals.

He added: “That was a big result for Celtic at the weekend — a good result for Brendan in particular, too. When you look at the circumstances in which he left the club in 2019, not every fan was best pleased with his reappointment.

“But matches like that can work absolute wonders for a manager trying to cement their place back in the hearts of the fans. That win against Rangers is huge in the title race, even this early in the season.

“As for Rangers, what a bad couple of days for them — getting knocked out of Champions League qualifying in terms of prestige is bad enough. But also the finance side of things, it’s a really huge blow to them.

“Celtic have the upper hand over them in that respect, and they are four points clear of Rangers in the league. Brendan should be able to go on and win that title now, you would expect.”