Taking a small break from the Glasgow Derby for a second, there was some regular news about the Celtic players doing the rounds this weekend.
As we all know, Matt O’Riley was the subject of some intense transfer speculation after La Liga giants, Atletico Madrid, tried to tempt Celtic to part with their star man.
However, Celtic stood firm and O’Riley remained at the club. Much to the delight of the Celtic support.
But how did the Danish international feel about that? Was he upset? Was it the reason for his dip in form? Or was he happy to remain in Paradise and help Celtic defend their title?
O’Riley reveals the ‘challenge’ of dealing with transfer speculation
Being linked to one of the biggest clubs in Europe would affect any player’s focus and O’Riley has been open and honest about how the transfer links had an impact on his performances from Celtic.
O’Riley said [The Scotsman], “If I’m being completely honest, the first two or three games after the transfer window mentally it was a slight challenge because I felt somewhat a bit of added pressure on my shoulders, just slightly.
“But then I realised I didn’t really know why I was putting extra pressure on myself. I didn’t really need to change anything. I kind of came away from that and focused on what I bring to the team it clicked back into place again.
“Each season, regardless of it going well it will still pose a different challenge.
“Of course, bids are great but it could still potentially be a negative thing if you don’t see it from the right way as well so another thing to learn going forwards.”
O’Riley has been excellent for Celtic since signing for the club back in January 2022. He had an instant impact at the club and had a man-of-the-match performance in his debut in the 2-1 win against Hearts at Tynecastle.
Picking up five trophies out of six in his first 18 months at the club, O’Riley quickly established himself as one of the best players at the club and won Celtic’s Young Player of the Year Award last season.
Tipped on numerous occasions for a big-money move, O’Riley will eventually move on at some point but the Celtic fans will be hoping that that move is a long way off considering he just signed a new contract at the start of this season.