“Matt’s been the very definition of a professional. He has kept his counsel. He’s trained incredibly well. He’s been a great teammate, so that’s helped everyone at the football club,” Gordon Strachan…
Former Celtic manager Gordon Strachan, whose son Gavin is currently a first team coach at Celtic, has praised Matt O’Riley for the manner in which he has conducted himself this summer amid intense transfer speculation.
That is coming to a conclusion with O’Riley set to sign for Brighton, and when he leaves he will be able to hold his head high due to his exemplary attitude and commitment shown amid all the summer transfer talk.
Gordon Strachan has been discussing wanted man Matt O’Riley’s future when chatting to Lord Ping. With reports that Premier League club Brighton is close to landing the highly rated Danish international midfielder from Celtic, Strachan admitted that “the Premier League is where the excitement is” and “the appeal is absolutely massive for a player”.
Discussing O’Riley’s future in length, Strachan admitted that he “would absolutely love him to stay at Celtic and in Scotland” but there’s a bigger opportunity as a player south of the border in the Premier League. Here’s what Gordon Strachan has been saying about Matt O’Riley…
Exemplary O’Riley has handled transfer speculation perfectly
“I think Matt O’Riley’s attitude and commitment has been exemplary throughout the summer. All managers will have had to deal with players that have their heads turned when club’s come knocking and they can become really disruptive influences in and around the squad,” Gordon Strachan said.
“The last thing any manager wants is guys moaning and groaning, grumbling in the background. Matt’s been the very definition of a professional. He has kept his counsel. He’s trained incredibly well.
“He’s been a great teammate, so that’s helped everyone at the football club. There’s no question of him starting, even with all the speculation, and that is something to be commended,” he added.
O’Riley advised to ignore Italy and head to the Premier League
“Matt’s done terrifically well at Celtic. I’m sure he wants to play for a top team in Premier League. I’m sure that’s where he wants to go because every player wants to go and play in the Premier League.
“Atalanta are reportedly interested, and they can offer him Champions League football like he’ll be playing at Celtic if he stays, but I think if you gave him the choice between Italy or the Premier League, he would choose the latter.
“The Premier League is where the excitement is. It’s where the best players are, full stadiums. The appeal is absolutely massive for a player,” Gordon Strachan stated.
Strachan would love O’Riley to stay in Scotland, but admits the lure of the Premier League is impossible to resist
“Would it be better for him to have a season with a minimum of eight Champions League games under his belt if the clubs that come in for him aren’t top six Premier League sides? I can see the argument for that, definitely.
“I think though that he will want to test himself at the highest possible level, and that would be in the Premier League.
“Don’t get me wrong, I would absolutely love him to stay at Celtic and in Scotland, but we can’t offer him that test. The build-up to the games, there’s a buzz. The stadiums for mid-ranking Premier League clubs are pulling in 30 or 40,000 – it’s not like that in the SPFL,” the former Celtic and Scotland manager admitted.
“I wish the game was bigger in terms of stadia because it would generate more money, and it would raise the standard.
“He will want to compare himself to the best midfielders in the Premier League. I think he has the ability to walk into that Chelsea midfield, and if he was playing for them, maybe they would have got something against Manchester City,” Strachan added.
