Celtic starlet left Parkhead for £0, now he’s worth more than Matt O’Riley

Celtic starlet left Parkhead for £0, now he’s worth more than Matt O’Riley

Celtic have gained a strong reputation over the years for developing talented young prospects before selling them on for big profit to European teams.

The likes of Virgil van Dijk, who joined Southampton for £13m in 2015, Fraser Forster, Victor Wanyama, and Gary Hooper all earned big moves away from Parkhead from the Neil Lennon era.

More recently, Kieran Tierney completed a staggering £25m move to Premier League giants Arsenal from the Hoops in the summer of 2019, which made him the most expensive Scottish player in history.

That fee was matched by the one that the Bhoys raked in from Saudi Pro League side Al Ittihad for Portuguese forward Jota, who left for £25m in the summer of 2023.

These sales show that the Hoops have made a habit of raking in huge sums of money for their talents over the years, which suggests that they have created a nurturing environment that allows players to thrive whilst winning trophies for the club.

The latest example of their fantastic work in that respect is central midfielder Matt O’Riley, who recently completed a move to Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion.

Celtic’s Matt O’Riley blinder

Former Celtic head coach Ange Postecoglou moved to sign the English-born starlet from League One side MK Dons for a reported fee of £1.5m at the start of 2022.

The 21-year-old central midfielder did not take long to adjust to football in Scotland, with a return of four goals and three assists in 16 Scottish Premiership appearances.

It was immediately clear that the Hoops had struck gold by signing the midfield maestro for a fee of just £1.5m, as he made an instant impact as both a scorer and a creator of goals for the club.

O’Riley followed that up with four goals and 14 assists in 52 appearances in all competitions for the Scottish giants in his first full season under Postecoglou.

The 23-year-old star then produced a staggering 19 goals and 18 assists in 49 outings in all competitions for Celtic under Brendan Rodgers last term, with the bulk of those goal contributions coming in the Premiership.

23/24 Premiership

Matt O’Riley

Appearances

37

Goals

18

Big chances created

14

Assists

13

Dribbles completed per game

1.0

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, the Denmark international provided a huge threat as both a scorer and a creator of goals from a central midfield position for the Northern Irish head coach in the 2023/24 campaign.

His sensational form in Scotland attracted interest from down south and Brighton & Hove Albion eventually won the race for his signature for a reported fee of £25m.

Celtic played a blinder with the former Fulham prospect as they snapped him up for just £1.5m from MK Dons and turned him into a £25m player in less than three years.

The Hoops do not always manage their talent perfectly, however, as they once allowed a player to leave for nothing and he is now worth more than O’Riley in the present day.

Celtic fumbled Andy Robertson

Current Liverpool star Andy Robertson started his youth career with the Bhoys in 2003, at the age of nine, and spent six years in the academy before his departure in 2009.

The Scottish ace was released in the summer of 2009, at the age of 15, and later revealed that he went home and cried after that rejection, as it was his dream – having been a season ticket holder at the club at the age of two – to play in front of a packed out crowd at Parkhead.

Robertson has also spoken of the reasons behind his exit from Paradise. The Hoops opted against keeping hold of the youngster due to his lack of height and physicality, whilst he was one of a number of players who were allowed to move on for that reason.

The young gem was then picked up by Queen’s Park before joining Dundee United in the Premiership in 2013, which is where he produced three goals and six assists in 36 league outings.

After just one season with Dundee United, Premier League outfit Hull City swooped in to sign him for a reported fee of £2.8m in 2014, and that is where his rise in English football began.

Andy Robertson’s current market value

At the time of writing (12/09/2024), Robertson currently has an Expected Transfer Value (xTV) of €34.6m (£29.2m), as per FootballTransfers, thanks to his fantastic form over the years in England.

This means that he is currently worth more than Matt O’Riley, who just joined Brighton for £25m, despite being seven years older than the Dane – at 30.

His rise in value over the years has been down to his sensational form for Liverpool, having signed for the Reds after three years and 115 appearances for Hull, where he has won the Premier League and the Champions League.

Jurgen Klopp’s side paid an initial fee of £8m, rising to £10m, for the Scotland international in the summer of 2017 and his current market value suggests that they struck gold, as he is worth significantly more than that after seven years at Anfield.

Andy Roberton’s assist record for Liverpool

Premier League

Appearances

Assists

17/18

22

5

18/19

36

11

19/20

36

12

20/21

38

7

21/22

29

10

22/23

34

8

23/24

23

2

Stats via Transfermarkt

As you can see in the table above, the Scottish dynamo has been a consistent source of creativity down the left flank for Liverpool over the years.

Robertson has racked up 59 assists in his Premier League career, for the Reds and Hull combined, and currently tops the charts for assists by a defender in the history of the league, as he has overtaken Trent Alexander-Arnold’s return of 58.

The Liverpool star, who was once described as a “world-class” player by Klopp, has developed into one of the best defenders in Premier League history, as evidenced by the incredible record he currently holds.

Brendan Rodgers has received a lot of praise for the work he has done in strengthening Celtic in the summer transfer window.

The Celtic boss splashed the cash on big-money signings to bring Adam Idah, Auston Trusty, Arne Engels and Paulo Bernardo to the club.

Rodgers also managed to get Kasper Schmeichel in on a free and Viljami Sinisalo and Luke McCowan both in for around the £1m mark.

So far, the Celtic fans have seen all new signings make their debuts apart from Sinisalo and Trusty but with the fixture schedule starting to get congested, it won’t be long until both players will be called upon by Rodgers to keep the team fresh.

However, there is one new summer signing that has impressed former Celtic favourite, Peter Grant, in the short time he has seen him in a Hoops jersey.

Arne Engels impressed Grant vs Rangers

Grant was asked what his first impressions were of young midfielder, Arne Engels, and he pinpointed his work off the ball as what ‘really impressed’ him.

Grant told The Go Radio Football Show. “I was very impressed in the short period he was on because the thing I liked about him was one of the times the ball was played into Kyogo and he’d taken off without the ball.

“And myself and Barry were speaking about how difficult that is as a midfield player playing against him. Because you know you’ve got to track him but also deepen the defensive line.

“And especially with teams playing now with this high line and trying to press up to the halfway line, you do need midfield runners. That’s what really impressed me with him.”

Engels is the ‘perfect specimen’ of a midfielder

At just 20, you Engels arrived at Celtic as an £11m record-breaking signing. But Grant reckons at that price, his old club have signed a very good midfielder.

Grant continued, “He’s a very good size. He’s the perfect specimen for a midfield player, there’s no doubt of that. I’ve not seen enough of him, but in that small cameo, I thought he’d done really well.

“And he can’t be a mug if he’s mixing with the De Bruyne’s of the world at 20 years of age in the Belgium national team, that’s for sure.

“The price tag, that’s not the kid’s fault. That doesn’t matter for me. If he has a good game, a bad game or an indifferent game, it’s not the price tag that’s given him that. The kid goes out there to play and he’s delighted to play for Celtic.

“I hope he comes in and does fantastically well.”

Engels has already the world at his feet. At a relatively young age, he has just signed for one of the biggest clubs in the world, will most likely get his opportunity to star in the Champions League, has made his full international debut with Belgium and has commanded a huge transfer fee.

With Hearts at Celtic Park up next, Engels will be hoping to get more game time to show what he can do and if he can build on what he gave against Rangers, then it does seem like Celtic have got a serious player on their hands.

Celtic fans offered alternate flight routes to key Champions League games with huge city celebrations planned

Celtic are back in the Champions League this season. | SNS Group

Celtic have some glamour games to come in the Champions League.

It comes with a whole new look but Celtic fans will demand progress all the same in this year’s Champions League.

In a new revamped league phase, Brendan Rodgers’ side will take on eight matches against sides across the continent between this month and January to try and book a last 16 spot. At least, they will be keen to have a knockout play-off spot that could provide them a platform to that round.

Their campaign begins at home to Slovan Bratislava but some glamour away games are to come against Borussia Dortmund, Atalanta, Dinamo Zagreb and Premier League side Aston Villa. Fans will already be scrambling to book up away days.

Cars, buses and trains can be used on the trip to Birmingham for action against Villa, but Manchester Airport have offered alternate paths to the rest of Europe for Celtic fans, as opposed to jetting out from Scottish airports. And Hoops fans will land in time for an iconic celebration in one of their locations. Take a look at the airport’s descriptions below.

Borussia Dortmund – October 1st

“The Scottish champions are amongst Europe’s elite once again this year and begin their Champions League campaign with a trip to last season’s beaten finalists. Dortmund is around 40 minutes by train from Dusseldorf airport, and Hoops fans will be arriving in time for Dortmund’s Oktoberfest celebrations, which run from 27 September – 5 October and are centred on a giant marquee in Wischlingen park.”

Atalanta – October 23rd

“Last season’s Europa League winners Atalanta are based in Bergamo, a small city just outside Milan. It has its own airport, the aptly named Milan-Bergamo Airport, and you can get direct flights here from Manchester with Ryanair. Take the cable car from Bergamo city centre up a steep hill to the ‘Citta Alta’, or ‘Upper Town’ – where cobbled medieval streets are well preserved, and viewpoints offer breathtaking panoramas over the city.”

Dinamo Zagreb – December 10th

“If you’re planning to watch the Bhoys in Zagreb, you can fly from Manchester to Vienna and then jump on a direct Flixbus service to the Croatian capital. The city is yet to take off as a tourist hotspot, but its claim to fame is as the home of the world’s shortest funicular, which is just 66m long and takes less than a minute from end to end.”

Joe Hart to take on father of Celtic star in charity golf clash

Joe Hart at Celtic Park (Image: SNS)

Former Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart is set to face the father of current Hoops number one Kasper Schmeichel in a charity golf match.

Hart, who hung up his gloves at the end of last season, is set to play against the legendary Peter Schmeichel in a one off ‘England vs The World’ team golf clash out in Thailand at the beginning of next March.

Lee Westwood is set to take charge of the English team – including Hart – while Sergio Garcia will captain the rest of world stars.

Hart will tee off alongside some household names such as Paul Ince, Robbie Fowler, and Theo Walcott. Their opponents consist of Schmeichel senior, Dwight Yorke, Patrik Berger, and South American duo Luis Figo and Gabriel Batistuta.

The golf will be played on the world famous Robinswood course in Lam Luk Ka, near Bangkok.

Some big names may still yet be announced to partake in the charity event, which could be repeated in Australia next December.

Hart will fancy his chances against Schmeichel, but the former Manchester United ‘keeper has a handicap of ten, compared to the Englishman, who plays off a 14.

The news comes amidst Kasper’s flying start to life in Glasgow.

The Hoops stopper is a good friend of Hart, while his father was in attendance on Flag Day. He will look forward to seeing the pair tee off next year.

Celtic’s search for a backup and competition to Greg Taylor ended this summer after Brendan Rodgers added Barcelona left-back Alex Valle to the squad.

The year-long loan will help provide an option to the left wing-back area and help push Taylor to work harder to keep his first-team spot.

In fact, the Celtic support is already seeing the benefit of this after Taylor’s great start to the season so far.

Valle replaced Alexandro Bernabei who ventured out on loan to Internacional earlier this year after the Argentine failed to make any sort of impact since his £4m move to Celtic Park two summers ago.

But it seems that what Bernabei is doing out on loan may well have implications for his Celtic career when that loan spell ends.

Bernabei enjoying life on loan from Celtic

Bernabei struggled to make the breakthrough into the Internacional team when he first moved to the Brazilian club.

Left out of the first 15 league games of the season, Bernabei has now enjoyed ten starts this season completing every single one of the 90 minutes.

And the best part for him? Out of those ten fixtures, Internacional have won eight, drew one and lost just one as they sit in a lofty eighth place in the Campeonato Brasileiro Série A.

Rated at 7.65 by Fotmob, Bernabei has been one of the best players in the squad. With an expected assist rate of 2.1 per game, 16 chances created and a goal to his name, the Argentine is proving to be a very effective attacking fullback.

With 24 interceptions and 52 duels won, Bernabei is also contributing defensively however, his tackling success rate of 55% needs to improve.

Alexandro Bernabei’s Celtic future

I think most people will agree that Bernabei’s future at Celtic is at an end despite his impressive run in the Internacional team.

It would be great to see him try and make a career at Celtic but that time may be gone.

However, Celtic can still benefit regardless of whether he returns to the club or not because if Bernabei continues his impressive form then that will give the club a better chance of recouping much of the large transfer fee that was shelled out for him.

Irish manager questions why Liam Scales didn’t play over EPL star

Liam Scales and Cyriel Dessers wrestle during the most recent Celtic vs Rangers match (Image: Alan Harvey – SNS Group)

Irish football manager Shane Keegan has questioned why Celtic centre-back Liam Scales didn’t get any minutes for Ireland over the international break ahead of Everton’s Seamus Coleman.

The 26-year-old was called into the squad for new manager Heimer Halgrimsson’s first few games at the helm but wasn’t picked to play.

Indeed, Scales was left on the bench for Ireland’s 2-0 defeat to England in Dublin on Saturday night, and once more didn’t feature when his country were beaten by Greece on Tuesday evening.

Keegan, who has previously taken charge of Galway United and Cobh Ramblers, was particularly shocked that the centre-back didn’t feature versus the English.

Ireland played a back five, and Keegan thinks Scales should have got the nod in defence over stalwart Coleman.

“If you’re playing three at the back then the left-sided centre-half has to be left-footed,” he told The 42.

“We’re not stuck for a left-footed player to play in that role at the moment. Liam Scales is flying it. Ok you can argue the merits of the level that he’s playing at, but he had just come out of the Rangers game where he had played extremely well.

“What could possibly suggest from what Liam Scales is doing at the moment that he wasn’t good enough to be in that starting 11 vs England?

“If you have a left-footed option and don’t want to play him, you need to have a serious reason not to.

“As an outside player in a back three, is Liam Scales not a better defender than Seamus Coleman? Obviously, Seamus is a better option as a full back, but I just couldn’t wrap my head around that one.”

Scales will be hoping to win back his place in the Irish side when they travel to face Finland and Greece next month.

St Johnstone’s decision to cut Celtic allocation just doesn’t make sense

Earlier this week St Johnstone the latest club to slash ticket allocations for both Celtic and theRangers. It’s a self-defeating trend that has gripped the Scottish Premiership clubs and results in empty seats at grounds…

McDiarmid Park, Perth

Yet supporters of clubs like St Mirren claim that it’s been a successful move limiting the Glasgow giants to just one stand at their ground. Kilmarnock tend to have the most empty seats when the big two are in town, despite knowing that they could easily accommodate all of their own supporters and still give Celtic and theRangers two stands instead of one.

Empty seats galore at McDiarmid Park last season. The ONLY time ground could be at capacity is when Celtic or theRangers play there.

St Johnstone are now the latest club to jump on this bandwagon by cutting the ticket allocation of the two Glasgow clubs, following the likes of Hearts, Hibs and the aforementioned Kilmarnock and St Mirren in doing so.

Indeed theRangers are lucky that they are getting any tickets to McDiarmid Park, judging by the comments to the announcement on the official St Johnstone Facebook page. Their support reckons that following the disgraceful assault of the Saints SLO by Rangers ultras at Hampden recently, theRangers should get zero tickets for their next trip to Perth.

The Saints owner sent this open letter to the St Johnstone support via the club’s official website:

Dear Saints fans,

I wanted to take this opportunity to communicate directly with you about the important matters of matchday attendance and our plans moving forward for matches against Celtic and Rangers.

Your unwavering support as part of our loyal fan base is the cornerstone of our success. With that in mind, I want to emphasise our commitment to making McDiarmid Park a true fortress for our team, particularly when hosting Celtic or Rangers. Historically, we have sometimes allocated the East Stand to visiting supporters and moved supporters to the Geoff Brown Stand. We have also allotted more seats than necessary in the Geoff Brown Stand to opposing fans. Under our new policies, to be announced later this week, opposing fans will be limited to the Ormond and North stands and one section of the Geoff Brown Stand which is legally required to accommodate disabled seating.

For this initiative to be successful, we need you – our dedicated fans – to turn out in force. We understand that this requires a collective effort, and we are committed to making it as convenient as possible for you to attend. We are putting extra provisions and planning in place to enhance your matchday experience, including improvements in accessibility, safety, parking, and stadium services.

Finally, in light of some recent unsavoury incidents both home and away, we have reviewed and updated our terms and conditions for accessing McDiarmid Park on matchdays. These updated guidelines are designed to ensure a safe and enjoyable environment for everyone. The new terms and conditions will be made available later this week. We encourage all fans to familiarise themselves with these changes.

We value your input and are keen to ensure that any decisions we make are reflective of your needs and concerns. To this end, we will be gathering feedback through a working group, which will include fans and representatives from the club and the police. Your voice matters, and we encourage you to engage with this process to help us shape the future of our matchday experience.

I want to thank you for your continued support and dedication to St Johnstone. Together, we can make McDiarmid Park a venue where every Saintee feels at home and where our opponents face the full force of our collective spirit.

I look forward to seeing you in the stands on September 28 for the Celtic game.

Adam Webb

Owner and Chairman

Celtic don’t rely on sky monies to keep the club afloat .
The clubs cutting allocations to away fans do.
Half empty stadiums make for poor tv viewing .Like it or not .Hence the shite tv times for games.
Be careful what you wish for with the petty allocations debate.☘️

— The Suly shamrock 🍀 (@Jk6315) September 12, 2024

I couldn’t give a hoot about the Ibrox club or their fans, but when it comes to our club it irks me, like it does with every other Celtic supporter, especially those who like an away day.

These clubs are cutting their nose off despite their face by taking such action. In doing so they are depriving their own clubs of much needed income in a climate where every penny counts. It also paints a bad look on the Scottish game at a time when we are trying hard to promote our game. Half empty stands doesn’t do our game justice, especially when there is a demand to fill those spaces.

I get that clubs are free to make their own decisions on that they feel is right, but what is right about denying your club of much needed funds when they desperately need them? It doesn’t make sense and yet again casts a doubt on the future of the away supporters as a viable thing in the Scottish game. Communities with supporters buses travelling up and down the country supporting their team and in doing so filling the coffers of clubs up and down the land.

Celtic also need to do everything that they can to avoid empty seats. We have written about the need for a Ticket Exchange Scheme and that should come along at some point in time. In the meantime Celtic should look at giving away teams (excluding theRangers as a separate deal is in place for them) coming to Celtic Park a maximum of the number of their supporters who visited Celtic Park previously.

These clubs are all within their rights to say that they are putting their own fans first. Yet Celtic have a huge demand for tickets for Paradise and there are thousands of Celtic supporters who can’t get a ticket on match day at Celtic Park, yet there are usually always spaces in the away corner.

And hopefully for this weekend Hearts have received no more tickets that they give us for Tynecastle, despite having evidence that the seats they have taken from Celtic remain unsold and they end up with empty seats and lower revenue. For what? Spite.

St Johnstone has a new American owner who is still getting to know the lay of the land in Perth. A few years ago Saints had a home Scottish Cup tie against theRangers and the visitors were given three stands because the game was not on the St Johnstone season ticket. Despite all St Johnstone fans who wanted a ticket getting one, there was outrage and the club vowed never to let this happen again.

The reduction for the Celtic visit at the end of the month is smaller than the headlines might suggest, the two stands behind the goals will still house Celtic supporter and there will be some reduction to the numbers in their main stand. The stand opposite seems to have seats that no-one ever sits in.

Look at the empty seats at McDiarmid Park last season

Land prices are on the rise in West Perth with the new motorway extension opening up land for new housing development. McDiarmid Park is on prime development land and there has been talk of building a new standing reducing the capacity by 50% to around 5000 on the outskirts of the city. Basically St Johnstone admit that they don’t need a 10k capacity stadium yet are turning their backs on football supporters who want to attend McDiarmid Park.

John Hartson Predicts Celtic’s Next Big Exit

Paulo Bernardo’s performances for Celtic have sparked speculation that he could be the club’s next high-profile sale, potentially fetching a significant transfer fee that’s up there with Celtic’s record-breaking numbers.

25th August 2024; St Mirren Park, Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, Scottish Premiership Football, St Mirren versus Celtic; Paulo Bernardo of Celtic warms up

The 22-year-old Portuguese midfielder, who eventually permanently joined Celtic for £3.5 million from Benfica this summer following a successful loan, has seamlessly taken over the midfield role formerly held by Matt O’Riley. His standout displays in Celtic’s 3-0 victories over Rangers and St Mirren caught the attention of many, including former Celtic striker John Hartson.

Hartson believes that Bernardo could command a fee of up to £20 million in the future, citing the player’s rapid development under manager Brendan Rodgers. This midfield that Bernardo has been a part of over the past few games has contributed significantly to Celtic’s early success in the Premiership this season.

John Hartson said to STV: “Brendan likes signing players he feels he can improve. Brendan’s brilliant on the training ground and he likes to work with them.

“You look at Bernardo now, who was absolutely terrific in the last game. He’ll probably be the next £15million or £20million player to go from Celtic. He’s that good.

“Matt O’Riley was £1.5million from MK Dons a couple of years ago, you’ve got Kieran Tierney coming through from the youth team, Moussa Dembele who cost £500,000 and they sold him for £20million.

“It’s remarkable, but it’s down to hard work from Brendan, his style and putting them in when they’re ready.”

Having Bernardo at Celtic last season on loan and then getting him for a cut-price deal has turned out to be an excellent piece of business.

He did well last season, in which there were pretty limited minutes. He clearly used the time to bed into Celtic and Glasgow, and this season, so far, he’s kicked on and been great in the Hoops.

If he keeps his performance levels as high as they have been, it won;t be hard to command £20 million for him.

Celtic Ready For Major Digital Upgrade; More Details

Celtic TV is embracing a digital transformation, moving away from traditional DVDs to a fully integrated digital streaming platform. It’s the end of an era and the beginning of a new digital one, and not before time!

This summer, following feedback from the fan survey, the club announced substantial upgrades to Celtic TV aimed at enhancing the viewer experience for supporters globally.

The announcement detailed that all feature-length content, previously available on DVD, will now be accessible directly through Celtic TV. This includes exclusive documentaries, behind-the-scenes footage, and special features.

Soccer Football – Scottish Premiership – Celtic v Rangers – Celtic Park, Glasgow, Scotland, Britain – September 1, 2024 Celtic fans inside the stadium before the match Action Images via Reuters/Jason Cairnduff

One of the highlights of the new content lineup is a documentary that follows the club through the highs and lows of the 23/24 season, reminiscent of the ‘All or Nothing’ series. This doc is eagerly anticipated and is expected to be released soon.

Celtsarehere have discovered some of the upgrades ready to be rolled out:

On-demand access to feature-length content without requiring a subscription, replacing the old DVD format.

Pay-per-view (PPV) options for occasional matches, in addition to regular live match content. Subscribers will enjoy discounted access to these PPV events.

An upgrade to full 1080p HD streaming for live games, ensuring a higher quality viewing experience.

Delayed full match replay service is now available in full HD for UK and Ireland subscribers.

An increase in the availability of short-form content exclusively for subscribers, providing more weekly content directly on Celtic TV.