Celtic have reportedly agreed a deal worth £30m to sell Matt O’Riley to Brighton. The Premier League side ramped up their interest in the 23-year-old over the last week and now they appear to have clinched a deal that will see O’Riley swap Glasgow for England’s South Coast.
As reported by Italian football journalist Fabrizio Romano on Twitter/X, a deal has been struck between the clubs.
O’Riley has clearly been identified as a signing that can go straight to the top. Celtic struck gold when they signed O’Riley from MK Dons in January 2022 in a deal worth £1.5m. In 124 appearances, O’Riley scored 27 goals and assisted on 35 occasions, winning six trophies. In the last campaign under Brendan Rodgers, O’Riley stole the show as he won Player of the Year, Players’ Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year.
O’Riley clearly ‘got’ Celtic and was adored by supporters. Despite being the subject of intersections summer, the 23-year-old continued to work away with Brendan Rodgers and the rest of the team, not allowing himself to be distracted by speculation.
It will be disappointing to see O’Riley leave but he’s an extremely talented player that will thrive in the Premier League, which will help increase his value to Celtic and act as a advert to other players about the opportunities at Celtic.