Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley won’t be featuring for Denmark during the upcoming international break.
The former MK Dons man has arguably been our best player of the season so far. He continued that form with an impressive showing in Wednesday’s loss to Lazio.
O’Riley will be a key player for Celtic against Kilmarnock on Saturday but would have been hoping to have some international football to look forward to after that.
However, he wasn’t included in Kasper Hjulmand’s Denmark squad for their qualifiers against Kazakhstan and San Marino later this month. (Denmark)
Despite the disappointing news, O’Riley is clearly someone who Hjulmand is well aware of. We told you recently about his conversations with Brendan Rodgers, with the pair having a positive relationship from the Celtic manager’s time with Leicester City.
Now, Hjulmand has mentioned O’Riley’s name publicly, with the quotes reported by Football Scotland.
“O’Riley’s an interesting option,” the Denmark coach is reported to have said. “But I have chosen players who best suit the way we want to play in these two games coming up.
“He’s an attacking midfielder who plays best in a three-man midfield. He’s a skilled ball player who’s got off to a good start.”
So O’Riley is someone who Hjulmand is well aware of. When he is being mentioned by name, it seems like his first full call-up won’t be far away.
O’Riley is on an upward trajectory. He has slowly become a hugely important Celtic player, after a quieter campaign last year. The midfielder has spoken publicly in the past about there being things “away from football” that people don’t see.
Now, it seems like he is finding his best form again. At 22, he has so much growth in him. Hopefully, a fair chunk of that comes at Celtic. We can’t wait to see what’s next in store for him.
In other news, Brendan Rodgers explains why Celtic supporters haven’t seen more of Luis Palma so far
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
