Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley has been in mercurial form this campaign under the stewardship of Brendan Rodgers.
The Denmark international has played a critical role in his side’s journey to the brink of Scottish Premiership success and the Scottish Cup final, and two unnamed Premier League clubs are thought to be in negotiations over a swoop for his services [Tipsbladet].
Admiration for his talent from is unsurprising, given O’Riley’s incredible return of 16 goals and 17 assists in 42 appearances across all competitions for Celtic in 2023/24, per Transfermarkt.
Fotmob shows that on league duty, the London-born playmaker leads the way for the Hoops in goals, assists, average match rating, chances created (86), ‘big chances’ fashioned (13), and Expected Assists (10.4), illustrating why he is such a highly sought-after commodity.
Over the weekend, Celtic held their annual Player of the Year awards in front of a sold-out crowd at the OVO Hydro. Unsurprisingly, O’Riley swept the Young Player of the Year, Players’ Player of the Year, and Player of the Year Awards, much to the delight of his adoring public
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Whatever happens with his future over the summer, the former MK Dons man has been a magnificent asset at Parkhead that has blossomed since joining in January 2022.
Matt O’Riley’s class social media post and replies from Celtic icons
Since winning three prestigious awards on Sunday night, O’Riley has taken to Instagram in a heartfelt message to the Celtic fans and his teammates.
Accompanied by a photo of the 23-year-old proudly holding his trophies, his caption read, as seen below: ‘Thank you to both my teammates & the fans (green heart emoji). Grateful to be a part of this family’ (four-leaf clover emoji).
Joe Hart commended his teammate for claiming a mini-treble on the night, calling the achievement ‘superb’ in the comments.
Former Celtic man Josip Juranovic also got in on the act, replying with a series of emojis to show appreciation for his old colleague. Adam Idah, Gustaf Lagerbielke, Reo Hatate, Benjamin Siegrist, Paulo Bernardo and Mikey Johnston were also swift to offer their congratulations, among others.
It is brilliant to see so many Celts, past and present, offer O’Riley the adulation he deserves following his exploits in green and white this term. Hopefully, he can have some silverware to show for his hard work.