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.
🚨🔵 Matt O’Riley to Brighton, here we go! Agreement sealed as reported earlier as #BHAFC complete one more massive signing.
Celtic to receive £25m fixed fee plus add-ons up to £30m package, record fee in Scotland.
O’Riley and Kadioglu, done deals. 🇩🇰🇹🇷 pic.twitter.com/fpLZmZiKNl
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 23, 2024
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.
🇩🇰 | 𝙈𝙖𝙩𝙩 𝙊’𝙍𝙞𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙅𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙨 𝘽𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩𝙤𝙣
Celtic have agreed a deal for Matt O’Riley to Brighton for a Scottish record fee worth up to £30M.
– A fantastic footballer
– A gentlemen
– A player going right to the topThanks for the memories Matt, always a Bhoy 💚🍀 pic.twitter.com/XgPWvuBLQQ
— Everything Celtic (@aboutceltic) August 23, 2024
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.