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Fullname: Matthew Sean O’Riley
aka: Matt O’Riley, Matt O’Reilly, Matthew O’Riley
Born: 21 November 2000
Birthplace: Hounslow, England
Signed: 22 January 2022 (from MK Dons, £1.5m)
Left: 26 August 2024 (to Brighton, £25m + addons)
Position: Midfielder
Debut: Hearts 1-2 Celtic, League, 26 Jan 2022
Squad No.: 33
Internationals: Denmark
International Caps: [TBC at end of career]
International Goals: [TBC at end of career]
Biog
“I can’t express how much I enjoy playing my football here, genuinely. It’s really nice to feel part of a family of football.”
Matt O’Riley (Sep 2023)
Matt O’Riley arrived at Celtic aged just 21 in the January 2022 window as Celtic were battling to regain the league title under new manager Ange Postecoglu. He was highly rated by his manager at MK Dons (ex-TheRangers player Russell Martin) who opined on him positively:
“He’s some player’ – good technically, two-footed, brilliant finisher and just a really intelligent footballer…I’m convinced he’ll go on to play at the very top, but a huge part of his journey now is playing at a club as big as Celtic”.
A curious point is that he was school friends with ex-Celtic Paddy Roberts who was highly feted but at the same time opted not to convert to permanent to Celtic, and his career had gone poorly since leaving Celtic, not that anyone wished him any ill as he was a favoured player. The day after Matt O’Riley signed for Celtic Roberts had agreed a six-month contract at third-tier English side Sunderland to finally leave Manchester City.
His debut came soon after signing, in a 2-1 win over Hearts in the league. He had a fine game but almost became a nightmare when he conceded a penalty (but thankfully it was missed) and then had to come off with cramp. Some even rated him as man of the match.
He soon took Celtic by storm with some great performances. Most often he was consistent and reliable, but had to be patient as he had to alternate often with the inform Tom Rogic for the same spot in the side on field.
Matt O’Riley had taken to Celtic like a duck to water, it was a seamless transition, a really cultured footballer who worked his socks off. It was still very early days for but clearly he had the potential to be amongst the best of the squad: touch, vision, brains, energy, he had potential.
Mostly coming in on the wing, he could make a good cross and was unafraid of taking shots at goal.
After a continued run of excellent matches he was soon linked with major clubs down south, which was a startling fact as less than a year beforehand he was playing down the tiers. Now he was to star with Celtic in the Champions League playing against Real Madrid.
Celtic went on to win a league and league cup double in his first season, with O’Reilly in this new regime under Postecoglou demonstrating he was deserving of his place.
His second season saw a bit of a dip in performance which puzzled many. He still contributed, and deserved credit for his role in the glorious domestic treble success in 2022/23, but was overshadowed by others such as Hatate. Off-field issues are said to have affected his performances, but no denial of his talent.
He set up the opening goal for Kyogo in the Scottish Cup final (June 2023) in the 3-1 win v Inverness CT, and proved he was still making strong contributions to the side.
Brendan Rodgers Era
In this new regime,the first season clearly belonged to one player along and that was Matt O’Riley. He was the one single player who improved from the off under Rodgers. The quality of his play was on another level, and it was welcome especially as Celtic wavered through periods under the new regime.
One of his finest moments was his adept chip cross to Lagerbielke to score in the dying moments in the 2-1 win v Feyenoord (Dec 2023). This seemed to encompass all that was best about O’Riley on field. Even when Celtic floundered, often it was O’Riley who was one of the few who escaped criticism.
His key attributes were probably his intelligence and anticipation, but he was unafraid of taking on players and putting in some key shots, scoring an incredible 19 goals in the league season as Celtic went on to win the league & Scottish Cup double in 2023/24. This included the sublime opener in the league season capping 2-1 win over TheRangers (May 2024) which effectively re-asserted Celtic’s dominance domestically. In the final run-in to the league campaign, he scored 8 goals that took Celtic took the title, which helped Celtic leapfrog Sevco to the top and win the league. He had this great knack of knowing where to be at the right time.
He was clearly by far the top performing player in the country, and was helping to prop up an at times faltering Celtic side. However, after a transfer bid from Spain (Atletico Madrid) was knocked back in the January 2024 window, his form slipped back, and Celtic sufferred heavily from this. He later acknowledged his form slipped for a period after the knock-back, but he came back on form and capped the season with a delightful panenka penalty goal v Sevco in a 3-3 away draw in April 2024. It highlighted his confidence, progress and talent.
Having come to Celtic having cost next to nothing, he was a star find that really dazzled, and he was clearly showing what a talent was on-form. The focus had clearly turned to Matt O’Riley as a centre-piece of the squad, although there were various other start performers too, but O’Riley had that special gallus quality that is almost ineffable.
He played on through summer of 2024 and some early match of the 2024/25 season as transfer wrangling dragged on, but he remained professional. He was on top form in these games, and it was bittersweet to watch this wonderful player show what the support would be missing once the inevitable move on was to finally happen. He really had grown as a player.
Celtic agreed a record transfer deal for Matt O’Riley, selling him on to EPL top tier side Brighton for a then Scottish record fee estimated to add up to around £30m (£25m + addons of £5m). To rub it into Sevco, the fee was partly funded by the sale by Brighton of Billy Gilmour to Napoli for a bumper fee, the player having been a former Sevco youth player who snubbed them to move south.
It was with a heavy heart that the support would see O’Riley go after having seen him develop and grow to become a fantastic footballer as well as a fine person. He was definitely a player with the potential to go to the top, we only wish it was with Celtic. He going to be missed as much as certain other recent high profile departures like Jota & Tierney.
We wished him all the best.
Post-Celtic
His move to Brighton was to begin disastrously as after only six minutes into his debut v Crawley in the League Cup, Matt O’Riley was at the end of a horror challenge from Crawley captain Jay Williams which made everyone wince. Incredibly the offendant didn’t even get carded (there was no VAR for this match) when it was a clear red card challenge. Matt O’Riley was then out and needed surgery for what turned out to be a serious ankle injury. He returned with a bang, coming on as a substitute scoring the shock winner v Man City in his league debut.
[…….]
Quotes
“First time taking the stadium in – even better than I thought it would be. Yeah, just to put it simply, just really, really happy to be here.”
Matt O’Riley
“He doesn’t actually speak to us much at all. At the training ground, he delivers information when he needs to do so, in meetings and on the pitch in pre-match sessions. In general, you probably won’t see that much of him. He keeps himself to himself. I think that is so he detaches away from the players to allow him to pick a team without too much emotion. So I can understand his reasoning for that. But at the same time, whenever I have spoken to him he has been very friendly. You don’t expect to hear much from him. So when you do you are probably quite grateful that he actually speaks to you, in a way. I think he is careful in terms of when he speaks to you and in saying the right things.”
Matt O’Riley on Postecoglu (Mar 2023)
“We’ve got the best fans in the world, honestly. After that night – I’ve never seen anything like that in my life!”
Matt O’Riley after 3-0 victory v Sevco Feb 2022
‘It shouldnt be overlooked that a footballer is a person’
Matt O’Riley appeals for better understanding, and urged caution in seeing footballers as public property and not people.
“It’s hard not to be very happy at Celtic.”
Matt O’Riley (July 2023)
“I was probably trying a little bit too hard last season just because I care so much and I want to help the team. Now I’m just trying to relax a little bit more and just get in the right positions and it seems to be clicking a little bit.”
Matt O’Riley (Aug 2023)
“I can’t express how much I enjoy playing my football here, genuinely. It’s really nice to feel part of a family of football.”
Matt O’Riley (Sep 2023)
“Matt O’Riley has been outstanding. He joined from MK Dons after coming through the ranks of Fulham and, when he first joined, he looked like a good player. He’s come on leaps and bounds and is impressing in the Champions League. Some of his passes have been phenomenal. He has the ability that all the top players have of remaining composed on the ball – he doesn’t play unlucky passes. He isn’t flustered in possession and isn’t influenced by a crowd screaming at him. He’s got that ability to take a ball, shield it and play the right pass every single time. It’s a rare gift that only the real top players like your Modrics or your Iniestas have.”
Ex-Celtic manager Gordon Strachan (Nov 2023)
“Matt O’Riley has had a huge impact on the team this season,” said Lennon. “He’s been magnificent in all areas. Wherever I’ve watched him, be it domestically or in Europe, he’s been excellent. His three assists in the Champions League were out of this world, and his game has just improved no end. Under Brendan [Rodgers], he’s scoring a lot of goals, and creating so many opportunities for the team. He’s always a threat, and he’s got a real knack of making those late runs into the box, undetected. He’s a fantastic talent, and he’s been a brilliant bit of business for the club.The priority, for the club, is to keep hold of him.”
Neil Lennon (Dec 2023)
Question: “What do you enjoy doing in your spare time away from football?”
Matt O’Reilly: “Meditation, learning more about myself in terms of body and mind and speaking to my best friend and coach in India – and also hanging out with my girlfriend and my family.”
Celtic Twitter Q&A (Jan 2024)
Matt O’Riley says he was not upset about Celtic rebuffing an approach from Atletico Madrid in January, adding: “It was just cool that a club like them would want me”.
Matt O’Riley (Mar 2024)
“With the greatest respect to Brighton who are a brilliantly run club i think Matt O’Riley should set his sights higher… I’d like to see him give it one more go in the Champions League with this current Celtic team… so unless it’s a big enough move stay one more season…”
Chris Sutton (Aug 2024)
“Good luck to Matt O’Riley if he goes. He’s conducted himself brilliantly. Celtic will be weaker without him. I get Celtic are a development club and it will be “can’t stand in the players way”. I get that but the club shouldn’t be weaker player wise than last season and they are!”
Ex-Celt Chris Sutton (Aug 2024)
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES (subs) |
LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 2021-22 | 16 | 2 | – | 2 | 20 |
| Goals | 4 | 0 | – | 0 | 4 |
| 2022-23 | 38 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 50 |
| Goals | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2023-24 | 37 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 49 |
| Goals | 18 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 19 |
| 2024-25 | 2 | – | 1 | – | 3 |
| Goals | 0 | – | 0 | – | 0 |
| Total | 93 | 12 | 5 | 11 | 124 |
| Goals | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 27 |
Honours with Celtic
(Honours are marked below in which the player has played in at least one of the matches in the campaign.)
Scottish League
Scottish Cup
Scottish League Cup
Pictures
Forums
Notes
- Matt O’Riley was purchased as Ange Postecoglou’s first choice, fellow Australian Riley McGree, turned Celtic down for Middlesborough in the English second tier. Turned into a big mistake for Riley McGree (despite his protests to otherwise) and a big boon for Celtic in so many ways.
- One irony of Celtic’s record transfer income from selling Matt O’Riley is that it was planned to be partly financed by an expected £18m sale of Brighton’s Billy Gilmour, who was an ex-Sevco youth player who snubbed them to move south for a nominal fee! However, after Matt O’Riley’s injury, the Gimour transfer was blocked by Brighton.
Articles
Celtic’s Matt O’Riley transfer complete as contract details confirmed and background links revealed
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/celtic/celtics-matt-oriley-transfer-complete-as-contract-details-confirmed-and-background-links-revealed-3536040
Celtic have confirmed the arrival of Matt O’Riley from MK Dons – the club’s fifth transfer of the January window.
By David Oliver
Thursday, 20th January 2022, 9:14 pm
The midfielder was pictured arriving at Celtic Park for his medical on Thursday afternoon and the club confirmed all formalities on a four-and-a-half-year deal had concluded later in the evening
“It feels amazing,” O’Riley told Celtic TV. “It’s the first time taking the stadium in and it’s even better than I thought it would be. I had other options which I thought were the only ones but I found out about Celtic quite late and spoke to Ange [Postecoglou]. As soon as I got off the phone I was ready to come.”
A product of the Fulham Youth Academy, O’Riley is also an England youth international and made his club debut in August 2017 at the age of 16. He played under former Celtic captain Peter Grant in the Craven Cottage under-23s and trained alongside ex-Celt Stefan Johansen before a move to MK Dons.
There he has played a role – either scoring or assisting – in 12 goals this season, helping the Milton Keynes club to fifth in skybet League One.
In another Celtic related twist, the midfielder also revealed he went to school with former Celtic winger Patrick Roberts who himself is close to a loan move to Sunderland.
The O’Riley deal is expected to be worth around £1.5m with Fulham also due a sell-on fee from the MK Dons. The midfielder follows Celtic’s recruitment of Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate, Guchi and Johnny Kelly earlier this month.
Matt O’Riley to Celtic: A potential Tom Rogic understudy who could play a major role against Rangers
Celtic’s admirable on-line community of data analysts have spoken. Should, as expected, Matt O’Riley be confirmed as Ange Postecoglou’s fifth signing of the January transfer window on a £1.5m deal from MK Dons, the club will have themselves a potential understudy to Tom Rogic.
By Andrew Smith
Thursday, 20th January 2022, 12:26 pm
At 6ft 2ins, lithe and left-footed, and assuming key playmaking duties for the League One side he seems to be now departing, there are obvious parallels with Postecoglou mainstay Rogic. There are, though, also crucial differences. O’Riley doesn’t possess the velvet touch of the Australian, or the balletic movement. However, what the 21-year-old appears to be able to produce in common with Celtic’s attacking funnel is moments that make goals.
It may be the third tier of English football, but his returns on this front across the first half of the season are mightily impressive. The Londoner – eligible to play for England, Denmark and Norway courtesy of his Danish mum whose mother tongue he can converse in fluently – is a ball player with bite. Across 2,549 minutes of competitive football he boasts seven goals and six assists…which works out at a goal action roughly every other game.
It is his range of passing and composure that is regarded to account for his potency in the final third. And provides him with a profile making it easy to see why he is an attractive proposition for Postecoglou. Not least because Rogic is set to be lost to international duty for Celtic’s next three cinch Premiership games – including the Rangers derby on February 2 – and David Turnbull is sidelined by injury. In this scenario, newbie Reo Hatate is essentially the only naturally attacking midfielder Postecoglou will have at his disposal over this period to deploy in one of two such roles that are pivotal for his system, wherein Callum McGregor screens behind such a twosome.
Postecoglou had to flog Turnbull and Rogic across the opening five months of the season because he had no alternatives allowing him to rotate. Both players suffered hamstring injuries as a result, the one sustained by the Scotland international in the League Cup final on December 22 likely to keep him out until March.
Patently of the mind that he needs at least two players for every position, in terms of his dual playmakers, this is the one department of the team where the Celtic manager has been still short of that even until this week…even with the humungous rebuild he has overseen in pretty short order. The acquisition of Fulham academy product O’Riley, who has grown to become a “brilliant” player across 18 months with MK Dons according to the club’s former manager Russell Martin, would mean one more major base being covered, then.
Celtic: Matt O’Riley destined for the ‘very top’ says former boss, after rejecting Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea and lucrative wages
Matt O’Riley once took a wage cut of 80 per cent, just to guarantee first-team football, his former boss has revealed.
By David Oliver
Tuesday, 25th January 2022, 4:30 am
Celtic’s new midfielder moved north from MK Dons last week with glowing references, and now Russell Martin has detailed the sacrifices he made in order to make it as a professional – even knocking back opportunities with bigger name clubs including Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund to simply play games.
O’Riley was at Fulham when he began to get itchy feet over a lack of playing time at Craven Cottage.
A spell training with MK Dons led to a permanent move in January 2021 and a year later the midfielder made his £1.5m move to Celtic – with a portion of the fee also due to the London club.
Former Rangers and Scotland centre back Martin, now manager of Swansea City, was impressed as soon as he saw him – but learned more about the background and the lengths the youngster was willing to go to, to make it.
“Back in 2020 I spoke to an agent who said he had this boy, Matt O’Riley, and he was refusing a new contract at Fulham,” he said.
“He got offered a very good contract, but was desperate to play. He didn’t want to be a squad player and was backing his ability to play first-team football.
“He was in talks with the likes of Borussia Dortmund, Southampton, Burnley, Chelsea but nobody could agree compensation with Fulham.
“He came to train with us [MK Dons] and right away it was like, ‘Wow, he’s some player’ – good technically, two-footed, brilliant finisher and just a really intelligent footballer,” Martin told The Sun.
“We really enjoyed having him and he was really enjoying it too. He said the way we played football suited him and he’d love to explore trying to sign.
“It took us three months to get something in place with Fulham.
“He took a wage that was probably about a fifth of what he was offered at Fulham just to play first-team football, because he knew how much it suited him.”
Martin added: “Matty sees the bigger picture.
“I’m convinced he’ll go on to play at the very top, but a huge part of his journey now is playing at a club as big as Celtic.”
‘CRAZY,’ NEW BHOY SUMS UP DEBUT
https://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/crazy-new-bhoy-sums-up-debut/
By CQN Magazine on 27th January 2022 Latest News
MAN OF THE MATCH Matt O’Riley summed up his Celtic debut in one word: “Crazy!”
The 21-year-old midfielder was thrown in at the deep end at hostile Tynecastle last night only five days after completing his £1.5million switch from MK Dons.
O’Riley set up the second goal for Giorgos Giakoumakis to double the team’s advantage over Hearts following Reo Hatate’s earlier screamer that zipped beyond the grasp of ex-Hoops hero Craig Gordon.
The confrontation in the capital – where Ange Postecoglou had lost his first-ever Premiership outing back in July – was played at a hectic, frantic pace, but the former England youth international handled the situation well until he had to be forced off in the 86th minute with James McCarthy replacing him for the remaining 10 minutes, including stoppage time.
The visitors held out for a 2-1 victory after an offside effort from Liam Boyce was allowed to stand by referee John Beaton and then the same Hearts player slammed a penalty-kick against the inside of Joe Hart’s right-hand upright in the 72nd minute.
At full-time, a breathless O’Riley gasped: “Crazy. You know, I’ve come from mainly in League One where you’ve got fans. But like this, this is…
“Honestly, I’m not used to it so definitely a good experience for myself in that sense, but I’m really happy to get the first game under my belt.
“Hopefully now I can push on really well.”
Reflecting on a crucial triumph that keeps the Hoops just four points off the pace, O’Riley, speaking to Sky Sports News, continued: “We didn’t control the game as well as we should have, to be honest.
“We let them get back into it with quite a sloppy goal. They should have scored another with the pen obviously, so in that sense I think we caused our own problems.
“But at the end of the day we still won the game, so that’s the main thing.”
Asked about having to go off near the end, O’Riley added: “I’m all right! I’m just getting used to it, I think.
“I hadn’t played a game in a couple weeks so I’m just now getting up to speed, but on the 80-minute mark my calf seemed to just seize up.
“It was a tough game, so it makes sense.”
Celtic’s Matt O’Riley plans visit to Garage to repay his father – ‘as a son it is a bit awkward to take at times’
There will be a role reversal in Celtic’s midfielder Matt O’Riley family unit this week.
By Andrew Smith
Across his football career, the Londoner has had unstinting support from his father Dom, and mother Gittee. At Glasgow’s Garage nightclub on Thursday evening, it will be the player giving his backing as dad indulges his first love. Dom O’Riley played in several bands across the 1970s and 1980s but let his interest in the scene drift until he moved up to Scotland with his wife following their son’s move from MK Dons last January. The Glasgow music scene re-ignited his musical passions.
The culmination of this re-invigoration will be Dom O’Riley’s Stir Crazy Xmas Special extravaganza at the famous venue, which follows the re-release of his song Christmas Time’s A Time To Rock. Son Matt has no option but to be at the Garage rocking in time – and blushing a little – as he gets to see his dad take to the stage for the first time in his adult life.
“I saw him playing live when I was much younger, but I probably didn’t understand or appreciate it much. I probably do now,” said the Celtic midfielder. “He has been so invested in my football career in terms of the sacrifices he has made, driving me all over and being there to give me any help that I needed, he didn’t have much time for him to do much for himself. So for him to be able to do this now, is the chance for him to do his own thing, and that’s so good.
“I have to have the decency to show up when he comes to every one of my football games. Showing up for his one night for himself is something I should make the effort for. I will be going and hope he gets a few people for that, which would be good. [With his name in lights] sometimes as a son it is a bit awkward to take at times, to be honest. Ach, it’s cool. And I’m just happy that he is doing something that he is enjoying, so I hope it is a good night.”
‘It shouldnt be overlooked that a footballer is a person’ – Celtic’s Matt O’Riley appeals for better understanding
Celtic’s Matt O’Riley has urged caution in seeing footballers as public property and not people.
By Andrew Smith
Published 4th May 2023, 22:30 BST
The 22-year-old midfielder appears to have everything going for him. The Danish under-21 international has the opportunity to claim his second straight Scottish league winners’ medal when on Saturday Ange Postecoglou’s men face Hearts at Tynecastle – the stadium where he made his debut following a £1.5million move from MK Dons 16 months ago.
O’Riley’s life has changed beyond all recognition since then, with the playmaker becoming a vital cog in a Celtic side all-conquering in their domain and now on course to claim a domestic treble. However, a superb debut campaign, and an equally impressive first half on this season, gave way to a form dip across the winter months that he has hinted was impacted by unspecified personal issues. These appear to have been overcome as O’Riley has recently regained both his place and the poise that made him such a celebrated signing. But his experiences have made him sensitive to the judgements being made on those in his profession through their public personas, and reading too much into anyone’s on-line presence.
“There is stuff off the pitch that might not always be obvious to the naked eye, and probably gets overlooked because you’re seen as a footballer instead of as a person,” he said. “I’m in a good place mentally [now] and usually when that’s the case, the rest takes care of itself. Social media is a platform where people only post the good things in their life. People don’t go on there and say they’re having a really bad day. That doesn’t really happen. That’s where we all have to be a bit careful, and bear in mind when you’re looking at someone’s Instagram that you’re only seeing the good things in their life. I’m sure that every single person posting things like that has something dark going on behind the scenes as well. I genuinely only use social media to post, other than that I don’t check it at all because I don’t think it does me any good.”
Adjusting to the intense glare under which the players of Celtic, and Rangers, find themselves as the country’s celebrities must be far from straightforward. O’Riley, though, intimates that he has faced different challenges in coping with the demands placed on him by his job. “[Those] come more from pressure in my own head than externally,” he said. “As much as external noise has some effect, the only pressure I have comes from the standards I set myself every day. In the season, and last season, I set quite a high bar, so maintaining that level and looking to improve on it was always going to be tough. I’m still pretty young as well so have a lot still to learn. I’m getting better at trying not to be so hard on myself. There have been times in the past when I’ve not had as good a game as I wanted to, and then there are little things you carry with you. I don’t think that’s a good approach to have, because you end up taking them into training. That’s something I’ve improved on a lot and I think that’s why you now see me in a better place on the pitch.”
“If you care so much about what you do, it puts extra weight on your shoulders. But that’s not to say I don’t love it. Even all these bad times, I’m going to look back on them with enjoyment because they taught me so much about myself and about football in general.
‘I like him a lot’: Brendan Rodgers purrs over Celtic ace but makes ‘more you learn more you earn’
https://www.scotsman.com/sport/football/celtic/i-like-him-a-lot-brendan-rodgers-purrs-over-celtic-ace-but-makes-more-you-learn-more-you-earn-comment-4255077
Brendan Rodgers believes central midfielder Matt O’Riley is “only going to get better” at Celtic – and has urged him to keep adding goals to his game.
Mark Atkinson
By Mark Atkinson
Published 14th Aug 2023, 22:30 BST
O’Riley has started both of Celtic’s Premiership matches under new manager Rodgers and scored his second goal of the season with the final strike in Sunday’s 3-1 victory over Aberdeen. Last season, it took the 22-year-old until February to find the net and while he was an impressive performer at Pittodrie, Rodgers feels there is much more to come from the Denmark Under-21 internationalist.
“I like him, I like him a lot,” said Rodgers on O’Riley. “I think he is a really intelligent footballer. Firstly as a professional, he is a top professional. He prepares his body well and he prepares his life well. He wants to do well. He sets his standards high every day to be better. When I looked at his numbers and everything else I think I said to him you need to score more goals as he didn’t do it enough.
“He was a bit like Jamesy Forrest when I first came into the club. He didn’t score enough for the talent he had and I was looking at Matt from last season and his first goal was in February. You can’t have that talent and be waiting that long. It is all about arriving in the areas and finding composure to finish. I really like him, his build up play is good, he takes the ball and he needs to work on his pressing and intensity, but he is a wonderful footballer and he is a good guy as well.”
While being aware of O’Riley while he was managing Leicester City down south, the skills of the player have been emphasised to Rodgers more now that they have spent time on the training pitch. “I didn’t see a great deal of him,” continued Rodgers. “He was obviously at MK Dons and I know he was linked with moves down south as most Celtic or Rangers players are. I have watched every Celtic game that has been on telly and I have seen his ability. He is a wonderful footballer and he is ambitious and he wants to be better and improve and I am really pleased for him and that was a good run into the box and finish from him [against Aberdeen].”
Rodgers showed in his previous spell as Celtic manager that he was able to take players to another level, with James Forrest and Callum McGregor two prime examples. Rodgers plans to do the same with O’Riley, but says it is up to the player to ultimately make the next step. “Hopefully I always try and create that culture [of improvement] but the responsibility lies with the footballer,” explained Rodgers. “You design sessions and work sessions with the players and staff and you create an environment that is designed to help them develop and improve and if you are clever enough you take that on board. He’s in his early 20s and he is only going to get better as he is at the start of his asset age as a player and will get better. I say to them ‘the more you learn the more you earn’. If you keep learning you will keep earning. Hopefully he is intelligent.”