Matt O’Riley’s former mentor sees stunning way back to Celtic – if one star leaves

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Matt O’Riley has not yet been given a fair shake at Brighton.

The midfielder left Celtic for a record fee last summer but an injury suffered on his Seagulls debut has plagued him this season.

Manager Fabian Hurzeler vowed not to rush O’Riley back to avoid exacerbating any further issues but that was news the Dane didn’t want to hear as he looks to play more regularly in the Premier League.

O’Riley has shown glimpses of why he was a £30million signing with a winner vs Manchester City earlier this term.

But putting together a run of games has been tough and old mentor Peter Grant reckons that will be hurting the 24-year-old.

• READ MORE: Matt O’Riley given Brighton transfer exit route as Celtic hero weighs up ending cruel Premier League stint

Peter Grant says Celtic should ask Brighton the O’Riley question

That’s why he reckons Celtic should 100 percent be on the phone to Brighton to see if a loan stint in the summer might work for all parties as O’Riley simply wants to be on the pitch all the time.

“You are looking at Matt O’Riley’s situation, for me, can Matt O’Riley go from the hero he was at Celtic to being a bit-part with Brighton?” Grant said on GO Radio.

“He got a bad injury in his first game, he got six minutes the other night, I knew Matt as a kid, he wants to play football all the time.

“He wants to improve, he wants to get better, he wants to get in the Denmark team. He wants to do all of these things.

“The way he went about his business up here tells you the type of character he is. He never asked away, he never moaned, played every game.

“So, I am looking at it, if that situation keeps happening, would Matt be interested in a loan (return) situation, if you lose someone like Hatate? He knows the expectation, I would definitely ask the question, for sure.”

Celtic will ‘probably’ sell Reo Hatate in summer

The question surrounding Reo Hatate comes amid speculation that the Japanese midfielder could be on his way out the door after the end of this season.

Celtic know his value is at its peak as he’s still contracted until 2028 so a sale would be worth more this summer.

The player has always had Premier League interest with, ironically, Brighton being big admirers for a number of years.

The Daily Record even claim Hatate will “probably” leave Celts with Brendan Rodgers likely to sanction his exit so long as he can find a suitable replacement.

Augsburg’s Elvis Rexhbecaj has been scouted… but O’Riley would definitely fit the bill.