Compared to the beginning of the season, Matt O’Riley’s Celtic form has taken a slight dip. The Danish midfielder was nothing short of a standout in the opening half of the campaign but since the turn of the year, he has not hit such heights.
He did grab an assist in the Hoops’ dominant 3-1 win over St. Johnstone on Saturday afternoon but O’Riley has netted just twice in the 11 games he’s played in 2024 to date.
The 23-year-old has dropped off in form, leading some Celtic fans to theorise that transfer interest from the likes of Atletico Madrid potentially turned his head.
Pundit and ex-Celt Chris Sutton, though, is not buying these claims. He believes that O’Riley has had to carry the burden of being The Bhoys’ sole consistently fit midfielder this campaign and that it has taken his toll.
He also thinks that it would be difficult for the midfielder to keep up the levels he reached at the start of the season: “There’s been a lot of talk around Matt O’Riley going off the boil in recent weeks and it’s got some Celtic fans jumping to conclusions”, he said (RecordSport).
“He must have had his head turned by that Atletico Madrid bid in January. All this stuff about £25million offers in the summer has distracted him and he’s taking his eye off the ball. I’m not buying it.
“Look, it may be the case O’Riley isn’t quite hitting the heights he reached in the first half of the season. It was always going to be tough for him to maintain that level as he set such a high bar. There was going to be a drop off at some point.
“You have to take into account it’s not just O’Riley that’s seen a dip – the entire Celtic team hasn’t clicked often enough since the turn of the year. Or more of the season, in fact. O’Riley hasn’t been helped by the inconsistency of selection either.”
