Celtic began life without Matt O’Riley with a comfortable 3-0 win at St Mirren on Sunday.
Paulo Bernardo was the man to come into the middle of the park as Celtic made yet another rapid start in the Scottish Premiership, thanks to another wondergoal from Callum McGregor, with Reo Hatate and Alistair Johnston also getting on the scoresheet.
Leading up to the game, all the talk was about O’Riley closing in on a transfer to Brighton after months of speculation.
Sources have told HITC that, Celtic will be getting up to £30 million for O’Riley and he was left out of the matchday squad for St Mirren to complete that move.
Brendan Rodgers returned to Parkhead last summer and he helped take the game of the playmaker to a completely different level.
The 23-year-old scored 19 goals and supplied 18 assists in all competitions for Celtic, including three assists in the Champions League.
This move, to a Premier League team and for a club-record fee, isn’t a surprise because many inside the club saw it coming months ago, it was just a case of where will he end up.
But Kris Boyd has completely disagreed with what Chris Sutton has said about O’Riley’s move, even if he had his Rangers hat on and ‘delighted’ by his imminent exit.
Sutton thinks the Denmark international is leaving 12 months too early and should stay on board as the Bhoys continue to dominate on the domestic circuit and try to improve in the Champions League.
But Boyd, whilst joking that he ‘doesn’t listen’ to what Sutton ever has to say, claimed that O’Riley has ‘hit the glass ceiling at Celtic’ and this is the right time to move, as he told Sky Sports News (24/08/24 at 12:20 pm).
Matt O’Riley to join Brighton
“I am absolutely delighted that he is leaving Celtic,” laughed Boyd. “You need to tell me what he (Sutton) said because I don’t really listen to him. When I sit beside him, I don’t really listen to him.
“Celtic have gone down the route of bringing in younger players. Giving them a platform and moving them on and Matt O’Riley has hit that glass ceiling at Celtic. I know people will say ‘stay and have another crack at the Champions League’.
“But it’s the equivalent of playing in the Champions League, playing in the Premier League. You look at him now, he has matured. He has got the goals and assists. He has improved week in and week out. You have got to give him a lot of credit as well. Usually, when you are linked with big money moves, I am not saying you down tools, but your performances start to drift because your mind starts to drift elsewhere. He has been excellent at the start of the season, Matt O’Riley. For the fee, it has been spoken about £25 million. Celtic have been unbelievable in the transfer market over recent years.”
Celtic’s transfer business
Signed for £1.5 million and now sold for a huge profit, this is a prime example of Celtc’s transfer policy working and keeping the club healthy from within.
But you still can’t blame the fans for wanting the board to push the boat out a little bit more.
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On the domestic stage, Celtic are fine and they will continue to dominate, even though they had a bit of a stumble last season, and yet they were still crowned champions.
Next Friday, the transfer window will slam shut, with Kyogo also linked with a move to Manchester City and he is someone the club simply can’t afford to lose.
The post ‘I don’t listen to him’: Kris Boyd disagrees with Chris Sutton’s transfer claim about O'Riley and Celtic appeared first on HITC.
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