MATT O’RILEY was brought to Celtic in January after a deal to bring Riley McGree to the club fell through. What a blessing in disguise that was!
The midfielder has been great since he arrived. He didn’t take long to impress the Celtic manager and push for a starting spot.
The Danish under 21 international then looked to displace Tom Rogic from the Celtic squad, with the midfielder appearing twenty times in the second half of the season, in three competitions.
Despite Celtic winning the double this season, Matt O’Riley only has one medal as the League Cup win came before the Dane made the transfer north of the border.
While on international duty, the player has reflected on his time at Celtic so far, saying; [Bold]
“It was great [winning the league]. It was my first trophy in my career, so it was really big. I’m really glad I was part of it. There are a lot of great people around the club, so it’s been really nice to be a part of. It was huge to win the championship, but I haven’t really had a chance to reflect on how crazy it really is.
“Things happen all the time in football, and now I’m here with the U21 national team. But when I think back on it, it’s a bit sick that I won the Scottish championship. In January I was on contract with MK Dons in League One and now I might be playing in the Champions League in two months’ time, so it’s been a wild journey for me because it’s gone really quickly.
“Sometimes I have to pinch myself at how things have gone in recent months. After two days at the club, I played my first game, and a few days after that I played my first Old Firm against Rangers, so it’s been great.”
Still young, Matt will improve significantly in the coming seasons. He’ll almost certainly feature for Ange Postecoglou’s side in the Champions League next season.
He’ll take the position the departing Tom Rogic leaves, and he’s already shown he’s more than capable of mirroring the Aussie midfielder’s performances.
Needs to drop the Old Firm patter! 😬 … don’t encourage ‘them’!