Matt O’Riley puts pen to paper in new 4 year Celtic deal

Celtic this morning confirmed that midfielder Matt O’Riley has signed a new four-year contract with he club that will see him stay with the Hoops until at least 2027. This comes straight after the brilliant Friday evening news that the club had agreed terms with Reo Hatate with the Japan international also signing a new long term contract at Celtic.

These two Celtic stars join Callum McGregor, Kyogo, Daizen Maeda, Liel Abada and Anthony Ralston in committing their long term footballing futures to the club via new and improved long term deals. Cameron Carter-Vickers provided another boost for the Celtic support yesterday via photos and the club video of him back out on the training field. Hopefully he’ll be next to put pen to paper!

Joe Hart and David Turnbull’s futures will also need addressing as both are out of contract at the end of this season.

Matt O’Riley this morning become the latest Celt to commit his future to the club, having signed a new four-year deal which will see him remain at Celtic until 2027. This brilliant news will delight Celtic supporters around the world and follows hot on the heels of the announcement on Friday that Reo Hatate had signed a new, long-term deal.

The Danish Under-21 internationalist, who joined Celtic from MK Dons back in January 2022 for just £1.5m – what a bargain that was!. Matt has been an impressive performer in the Hoops since making his debut in a 2-1 win over Hearts at Tynecastle just a couple of days after signing.

He has gone on to make 80 appearances for Celtic, scoring 12 goals. That tally includes four goals in this campaign, with O’Riley having been in superb form since the start of the season.

Speaking to Celtic TV, Matt O’Riley said: “It’s probably hard to put it into a short sentence but I think everybody knows how much I enjoy playing here, especially at Celtic Park because I don’t think you get that anywhere else. I’ve said before that I’m just really grateful to be a part of a club like this and hopefully we can achieve more good things together.

“I can’t express how much I enjoy playing my football here, genuinely. It’s really nice to feel part of a family of football. I think that’s quite rare, in terms of everything we do on and off the pitch, in terms of community work and charities etc… I think it’s unique and to be a part of that is special,” Matt O’Riley explained.

“I think it’s important going into training every day really enjoying the company of your team-mates, being able to have a laugh and being able to push each other as well. If you’ve got a good relationship off the pitch, it naturally makes it easier to demand high standards from each other, and right now I think we’ve got a real good balance of youth and experience.

“I’m still pretty young but I’m probably in the middle of that because we’ve got a young team, but that dynamic and balance is really helpful.”

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers was also delighted at getting this deal done too. He said: “We are really pleased that Matt has agreed this new contract with the club.

“As we have seen from recent weeks, Matt is playing some brilliant football, developing in all areas of his game and it is a great time for him at the moment. I know he is the kind of player that Celtic fans love and I know that, in turn, he loves it here.

“Matt has so much to his game but always wants to learn, develop and grow further and from that perspective, together with the inherent talent he has, he really is a joy to coach and work with.

“I am delighted that he has signed his new deal and I am sure he will continue to make a massive contribution to the Club going forward.”

Now three points at Motherwell Bhoys to make this the perfect weekend!

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