Celtic pulled off a number of great moves during the time of Ange Postecoglou as the manager of the club, especially during that remarkable first season. The likes of Kyogo, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Reo Hatate grab most of the headlines when there is talk about the Australian’s best signings at Parkhead. But there is one player who might have increased his transfer value by more than ten times during his stint in Glasgow.
Brendan Rodgers’ arrival has come with its fair share of stumbles. But at the same, he has unquestionably improved a few as well.
The name that has to be on top of that list is Matt O’Riley. To be fair, he was very good while Postecoglou was the manager as well. But right now, he is starting to look like the main man for Celtic.
O’Riley has added goals to his game under the management of Rodgers and lots of them. He recently scored a 97th-minute winner against Motherwell to send Celtic seven points clear of the Rangers in the league table.
Journalist claims Celtic player’s transfer value now more than £15m
That is an extraordinary rise when you consider that Celtic had signed O’Riley in January of 2022 for a transfer fee believed to be around £1.5 million. He was playing in the third division of English football back then with MK Dons.
Interestingly, it looked like O’Riley was not Celtic’s first-choice in that window either. Instead, they were heavily linked with Riley McGree before he decided to join Middlesbrough.
As reported by GIVEMESPORT, Dean Jones said:
"“O’Riley is a great talent and Celtic know that they haven’t heard the end of him being linked with other clubs. That will definitely continue to happen but the truth is, his performances are doing him no harm in any sense at the moment, because he’s looking capable of shaping their season almost single-handedly at times.“But with that his price tag continues to rise. So if you’re talking about O’Riley at £10 million to £15 million, I think you’re having a laugh at the moment. This is a player that’s definitely going to be worth more than that. He’s always been a player I’ve had an eye on anyway since he was breaking through at Fulham and given he’s found a stage like this to play on at 22 years old, I think it’s pretty perfect for him.“He’s still got huge potential, but even by staying at Celtic a little while longer, I think he can make up for all the hype that has been around him since he was a teenager.”"
Celtic were believed to have received a transfer bid in the region of £10 million from Leeds United in the summer for O’Riley. But considering the start that he has made this season, it is hard to imagine that he would be allowed to leave for anything less than what they received for Jota.