Celtic told they already have someone better than Matt O'Riley

Matt O'Riley left Celtic for Brighton & Hove Albion this summer in a Scottish-record £30 million transfer. The Hoops left no stone unturned in trying to replace him. They signed Arne Engels for a club-record £11 million fee. Dundee FC captain, Luke McCowan, was also brought in after moves for Alvyn Sanches and Mateusz Bogusz failed to materialise.

Of course, they signed Paulo Bernardo on a permanent basis from Benfica earlier in the summer as well. He looked fantastic against the Rangers, and was unlucky not to score after showing some magnificent footwork and composure in the opposition box that O'Riley would have been proud of.

O'Riley was Celtic's best player last season. So, it remains to be seen if these players are successful in filling his boots.

Celtic have been told that they already have someone better than O'Riley at the club though. The player in question is Reo Hatate. As reported by Football Insider, Frank McAvennie said:

"I think he’s the best player we’ve got.

“I think he’s better than (Matt) O’Riley on his day but he got injured and he didn’t play too much.

“When he came, Ange (Postecoglu) played him in too many games and he never really got a rest after coming over from Japan."

Celtic told they already have someone better than Matt O'Riley

Just like Bernardo, Hatate was unlucky not to score at the weekend as well. He got himself into a brilliant position in the Rangers' box and was also found by a fantastic pass from Nicolas Kuhn. But with the goal in front of him, the Japanese midfielder could not find the target.

It has to be said that Hatate was well ahead of O'Riley in the pecking order at Celtic during Ange Postecoglou's run as the manager of the club. Last summer, it was the Japanese international who was being linked with clubs from all around Europe.

Unfortunately, he had to deal with a lot of injury problems in the last campaign. And while clubs were still interested in him this summer as well, Celtic were not keen to part ways, with O'Riley already on his way out. That was the right decision on the part of the Hoops for sure.