Last night, former Fulham and MK Dons midfielder Matt O’Riley became Ange Postecoglou’s fifth signing of the January window, as the 56-year old continued to bolster his squad.
Many supporters might not have heard of O’Riley before Wednesday afternoon when the rumours of his move to Celtic started to appear. However, it appears that O’Riley was well aware of the club, with previous connections to the club.
Speaking to Celtic TV for the first time since signing for the club, the midfielder opened up on some of his previous Hoops connections, such as Patrick Roberts and Peter Grant.
“Peter Grant coached me during my time at Fulham, in the under 23s, and he was a really nice guy. He helped me develop quite a lot in my time at Fulham.
“Pat (Patrick Roberts) I went to school with – went in the same class at school. He is a little bit older than me, but at the time, he was actually someone I looked up to within Fulham. He was doing really well at the time.
“The last one was Stef (Stefan Johansen). I got to know Stef really well, he’s Norwegian, and I’ve obviously got a bit of Norweigan in me but Danish as well, so we got on in that sense.
“Obviously, I am good mates with all of them, but it just shows that a club like Celtic can attract people like Stef, like Pat, like Peter, and it’s just nice to follow the same routes.”
Whenever a new player joins the club, there always seems to be some sort of connection with the Hoops, and that is no different for O’Riley.
It would be interesting to hear if the talented Englishman reached out to any of those mentioned above to discuss a move to Glasgow with all three players enjoying their time in Green and White.
Either way, it is great to see the excitement that O’Riley has for coming to the club.
