Matt O’Riley Celtic exit to Brighton confirmed, Hurzeler explains what’s so ‘special’ about him

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The Matt O’Riley transfer from Celtic to Brighton has been made official after the Premier League club announced the signing this afternoon.

Speculation over the future of the Celtic midfielder has been rife as ten clubs were linked with O’Riley after two and a half successful seasons in Paradise.

With Atalanta leading most of the headlines, the Serie A club had five lowball bids knocked back as Celtic refused to entertain offers lower than what they valued their star midfielder.

However, after Brighton stumped up a Scottish-record transfer fee for O’Riley, the Celtic midfielder agreed terms with the Premier League club on a five-year deal until 2029.

And it was a transfer that delighted Brighton boss, Fabian Hurzeler.

Brighton boss delighted with Celtic capture

We discussed how Hurzeler was coy in a press conference this week when he was asked about Brighton’s pursuit of O’Riley.

But now, the Brighton boss couldn’t hide his delight after he finally landed the now-former Celtic midfielder.

Hurzeler told Brighton’s official website, “He plays a very specialist position; he is very good at occupying and attacking the right space.

“He likes making deep runs, and knows when to attack at the right time.

“He enjoys getting forward and attacking the opponent’s penalty area, but he also has a good defensive instinct. That balance makes him special.

“He is a great character and has a good ambition to succeed and that’s something which is very important for us.”

For Celtic and Brendan Rodgers, they now must look to invest a large portion of that fee to replace the departed Dane.

With Rodgers admitting that he would need to add at least two players to replace O’Riley, the Celtic boss will hopefully be far down the line with deals ahead of the transfer window closing at midnight this Friday.

Celtic were making multiple noises in the transfer window this morning as they look to strengthen the team and the fans will be watching and waiting to see how much of the reported fee Rodgers gets to spend before the window slams shut.