MATT O’RILEY moved to Celtic from MK Dons in January, becoming one of five new additions in the transfer window.

Born in England, he switched his allegiance to Denmark and has been called up to his mother’s country of birth’s under 21 squad.

The midfielder believes the ‘step up’ to Celtic, matched with his recent performances, are the reason he received the call-up to the national squad.

Despite many Championship clubs interested in the player, he still chose Scotland.

While speaking about this, the creative midfielder said;

“The switch to Celtic was a step up and I have managed to play continuously there, which Sorensen has looked at,” O’Riley admitted to Tipsbladet.

“When I switched to Celtic, I knew there was a greater chance of playing for the national team.

“When I heard about the interest from Denmark, I thought it was cool. I had a really good gut feeling that this is the right thing for me.

“It has previosuly been a difficult question for me when i was born and raised in England, but on one hand, my Mother is danish

“I have family there, and I really like the country, so right now I lean most towards Denmark.”

In recent weeks, Matt O’Riley and Tom Rogic have had to share the same role, meaning one has had to drop to the bench. However, with news of the Australian midfielder’s injury ruling him out of his national team’s upcoming games, O’Riley could be in line for a starting squad in the coming weeks.

The Danish under-21 international will have the chance to make his debut for the country against Belgium.

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