Matt O’Riley is on the brink of being announced as a new Brighton & Hove Albion signing after two-and-a-half successful years at Celtic.
The midfielder made 124 appearances for the club, winning six trophies along the way. He marked himself out as one of the best talents in Scottish football.
O’Riley’s 2023/24 season was particularly impressive, scoring 19 goals and assisting 18 more in a double-winning campaign.
It’s that form that attracted so much transfer attention. Despite all the noise, O’Riley conducted himself as the ultimate professional, always giving everything to Celtic.
In a parting tribute to the player, manager Brendan Rodgers has now shared he did that right up until the end of his last training session at Lennoxtown – even putting in extra work with coaches on Friday before his departure south for a medical.
Matt O’Riley lauded as an ‘absolute joy’ to work with
Speaking to the media after Celtic’s 3-0 win over St Mirren, Rodgers said [Celtic Way]: “It has been a real, real pleasure to work with him. I have to say, as a coach who’s coached many players, he did everything he could to be the best player that he could be. His behaviour, his decency all the way through pre-season was absolutely a joy to see.
“From a young player who’s got the riches of the Premier League in sight, he never lost his focus on Celtic. And even right up to the very last day, we’d finished, we had a lighter session on his last day, but he stayed out to do that extra little bit with the coaches. He has just been an absolute joy to work with.
“When you work with a player like that, you want them to succeed. Celtic won’t be the end game for some of these players, but it’s going to give them so much. And he leaves here now a winner, a better footballer and ready to play for any team in the world.
“When you play for Celtic and the pressure, and you become a winner, he can go on and play for most teams in the world now. His behaviour was second to none. He’s a good guy and I hope he does well. We continue because that’s an opportunity now for some other players to come into here and take that on.”
Brighton are getting a gem of a player in Matt O’Riley
Fantastic to watch on the pitch and a pleasure off of it. O’Riley will go down as one of the best signings to arrive at Celtic.
From his charity work to eloquent media appearances, it’s been fantastic to see O’Riley mature and grow despite the heated cauldron of football in Glasgow.
O’Riley could be the perfect fit for Brighton, too. They’re a team that pride themselves on work ethic and pressing to disrupt opponents. The midfielder was excellent at that in Scotland and has the creative chops to provide a cutting edge at the highest level.
Celtic’s loss is undoubtedly Brighton’s gain. We’ll miss him, but it’s fitting that there’s a sense of gratitude for having him at the club.
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