Matt O’Riley has been a very good signing for Ange Postecoglou. The 22-year-old arrived at Celtic in the 2022 January window and became an instant pick in Ange Postecoglou’s first team.
After choosing to represent Denmark at international level, O’Riley is yet to make his full international debut for the Danes but that day might not be too far off says former Celtic midfielder and now Denmark Assistant Manager, Morten Wieghorst.
Wieghorst said [Football Scotland], “Matt’s development looks really good. At the beginning of the year he maybe wasn’t starting as much for Celtic but that’s how it is with young players.
“There are periods when they just have to take a step back to take the next step forward. He just needs to keep doing what he is doing.
“The competition for the midfield (with Denmark) is great and he is up against English Premier League players too so we need to remember that.
“But he looks like he is going to win the title with Celtic and that’s really good for the players. Usually what happens is if you finish as a champion, you get to play international football too.
“So from our point of view it’s great.
“The Danish talent development is really healthy and you can clearly see from the youth teams that more exciting players are on the way.”
O’Riley has struggled to recapture the same form that made him a hit with the fans last season, but recent injuries to on-form Reo Hatate and Aaron Mooy gave him the opportunity to step back into the Celtic first team.
Seizing his chance, O’Riley impressed against Rangers in the 3-2 home win and then put in a Man of the Match performance against Kilmarnock where he bagged two first-half goals in the 4-1 win at Rugby Park.
The midfielder has already represented Denmark at u21 level six times. At just 22-years-old, O’Riley has ample time to make waves at senior international level but these comments from Weighorst have come just at the right time for Celtic.
As we prepare to face Rangers this coming Sunday, O’Riley could boost his chances for selection with a good performance for Celtic in a game that will be televised all over the world.
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