Matt O'Riley

That's it, be open and honest - we aren't mugs. But equally don't try and be cocky or smart about it. Don't lie to us etc.

We all know (fans, manager, club, players) that he is likely to be off by next summer, is fine, so long as we plan for it and have someone else lined up.

 

I think it is inevitable he will leave at some point hopefully not before the end of the season but as others have said it should be for a record fee for a player out of Scotland.

His age, the fact he would qualify as a homegrown player for an English club, his potential and maturity all make him a very good asset. Not a mention his ability and experience now of CL and winning a title.

Any deal to sell should also include a decent chunk of add ons and a good sell on too. He has a long time on his contract so there is no need to sell at a modest rate. If O’Riley had been playing for a Brighton or Leeds etc he would be £50m minimum for a bigger club to buy him.

We won’t get that but as I say I would like to see north of £25m.

 

Or alternatively focus on the here and now and win your place at the world cup on the pitch when the opportunity to impress presents itself (the UCL games) instead of being cocky in the Danish press where you think your teams support won't see it.

 

He's surely able to do both though, a press comment about knowing teams are interested in him isn't exactly a distraction.

Humans can have multiple thoughts remember

 

Would much rather he stayed longer than a year tbh. Had a feeling that Denmark call-up would end up biting us on the *. All for selling players on for a higher profit but really not interested in losing them a year after they joined and certainly not in the January window.

Always feel we should be looking to hang onto these guys for 2 years at least.

 

The profit we will make on player sales in the next couple of seasons going to be on a whooole other level.

 

The fact that he is paying enough attention to transfer speculation to be able to produce a list of teams interested is a little more than talking to international press. It means he has gone out of his way to enquire, which means that he is doing the opposite of what Ange advises his players to do. It's also as I've said pretty tacky.

JJ funnily made it clear he was focused on Celtic and hadn't cared enough to make enquires to confirm the Athletico speculation and is still getting pelters for it. Remarkable what our support will let slide if it's said with a posh English accent.

 

No it doesn't. It means Leicester and Newcastle were in touch with his agent and his agent told him about it. It means absolutely nothing. We always knew he was likely going to be the first player to go from the Ange era, along with JJ. Both are well within their rights to look for the next moves and I don't care if they do go. As long as we get top dollar, replace them and invest in the squad and they don't become unprofessional when we potentially knock back bids, I have no problem with players using us as a stepping stone. It's literally our player market and how we sell ourselves to young football players.

Celtic fans are fickle as * at times man.

 

Using us as a stepping stone is fine if they are giving 100% while they are here. A players who is preoccupied with his next step and trying to bag a world cup spot isn't a player giving 100% for the jersey. A point Ange himself had made countless times. Josip handled this situation with far more class and got pelters for it. There is a definite double standard among some fans.

There is a way to go about things and bragging in the international press isn't it.

 

Nothing to get upset with but i found it quite strange that he said "Leicester and Newcastle was interested in me" when he could have said "A few clubs showed interest in me".

Why even entertain to discuss those things in the media. Focus on us and only us. Simples.

 

He’s going nowhere in January, would take absolutely mental money for us to even go to the table. I’d not be shocked if he was away in the summer but he was never going to be here for years.

Clever guy who knew coming here and getting his head down would be the quickest and most direct route into the EPL. As long as players give their all when they’re here and we’re fairly compensated when they go I have no issue with that, it’s our position on the food chain unfortunately.

 

Nothing in his comments, same as when there was speculation about athletico looking at JJ, being aware of it or flattered by it isn't screaming 'come and get me' or disrespectful to us in any way, people just seem to really enjoy getting wound up.

 

Tbh I do find it a bit weird that he's done a few interviews now name-dropping teams who are allegedly interested in him. Like, what's the point?

Even in terms of normal interviews, he's done about 10 since he joined us. Definitely more so than any other player.

 

If it was purely up to him and an offer was were made he will be gone in January, trust me.

 

He's ambitious and again fair play to him but I'm not going to sit here and pretend reeling off all the EPL teams "interested" in him isn't tacky behaviour or apologise for thinking Celtic deserve better than to to be cucked in the media by a player whose not even been with us a year. A way to approach these things with a bit of diginity at the end of the day.

His parents have even been doing the press rounds.

 

Cucked, you're at it mate.

 

Aye mentioning specific side's is pretty calculated for me..

He's a clever boy and will go to the top. There was no need to go in to it too much..

Still love the big handsome ride though..

 

So, are you accusing him of not giving 100% for the club when he's on the pitch? You can give 100% for a club on the pitch while simultaneously making sure you're keeping a good eye on your future.

I don't know who gave JJ pelters. I don't know why they would. I don't know why people are giving O'Riley pelters personally. You're saying that there is a double standard among fans but clearly on this thread, there are plenty of people who think O'Riley could have worded things better. So, it's not really double standards when the same people are probably reacting the same way.

On the whole thing about him becoming preoccupied with his next step or a world cup place, that will only happen by giving 100% for us on the pitch and playing well. Is he committed to Celtic in the long term? Probably not. Has he shown that in any of his performances this season? I certainly don't think so. He's played well, started the season well and long may it continue. If we get a big offer in January or the Summer in 2023, he can go. As long as the club gets big money and uses that to replace players, I have no problem with that. Ange literally talked about chipping away at the big guys in the champions league like Ajax do. They sell countless players for big bucks but they replace them with higher fees than they paid for the guys before. You start to chip away at the guys at the top table by selling players for big money and replacing them with other players.

We paid £1.5m for O'Riley. If Leicester or Newcastle want him in January? The price should be £20m plus. Then guess what, we go and we buy someone who was maybe out of our budget last January. Someone at say £4m or £5m. Someone who can fill the void and give us something extra. People are acting like he's done an Antony and refused to play, publicly said he wants to leave and that the club is holding him back. He name dropped a couple of teams who showed interest in him in the summer and basically said he was trying to work hard to break into the World Cup squad. Honestly don't see the uproar over it.

 

I don’t think he’s performing like a guy who doesn’t care though.