Tottenham have been dealt a blow in their pursuit of Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley
Tottenham Hotspur have enjoyed a solid summer transfer window thus far, but a few areas in the squad still require addressing. One of those areas is the midfield unit.
The Lilywhites have been weakened by the departure of academy graduate Oliver Skipp to newly promoted Leicester City. While Skipp wasn’t a regular starter under Ange Postecoglou, he would have been a good squad rotational option this season when Tottenham are going to compete in four competitions.
With Rodrigo Bentancur injury-prone, and new acquisitions Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall extremely young with no real experience at the highest level, Spurs’ lack of depth in the central midfield unit is concerning. A bit more experienced legs in the middle of the park as Skipp’s replacement has to be on the agenda for the Tottenham chiefs in the final week of the summer transfer window.
Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley has been among Spurs’ midfield targets this summer, but it looks like he’s heading to the south coast of English football.
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According to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano, Brighton and Hove Albion have agreed to a £30m package with Celtic for the transfer of Matt O’Riley. It is a record sale for the Hoops, with the Scottish side set to receive a £25m fixed fee plus £5m in add-ons.
Brighton agreeing a fee with Celtic for O’Riley should come as a huge blow for Spurs. The interest in the Denmark international likely stood fuelled by Tottenham’s forward-thinking approach, always on the lookout for emerging talents to secure the club’s future. The 23-year-old’s style of play certainly
aligns with Big Ange’s preference for versatile midfielders who can contribute from various positions on the pitch.
O’Riley has been a revelation in the Scottish Premiership following his move to Celtic from MK Dons in January 2022. He was one of the Hoops’ standout performers last season, helping them win the Scottish Premiership and Scottish Cup. The former England youth international enjoyed a highly productive 2023/24 campaign, bagging 19 goals and 18 assists in 49 appearances.
The London-born talent would have certainly been a more than adequate replacement for Skipp. He is a crisp passer of the ball, tenacious, creative and covers a lot of ground. Technically solid and tactically sound, O’Riley would have been an extremely good fit in Postecoglou’s system in N17.
Due to his ability to create chances and score goals in equal measure—as evidenced by his aforementioned numbers from last season at Celtic, he may have been an ideal option to compete with James Maddison for the No.10 role. Furthermore, the two-cap Denmark international’s addition certainly would have raised the ceiling of our club’s midfield department.
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It was under Ange Postecoglou’s management when Celtic signed the midfielder from MK Dons, so our head coach should have known how to get the best out of his talents. Nonetheless, the £30m package for O’Riley is an absolute snip for Brighton, who have become renowned for making such deals in recent years.
Unfortunately, we will now have to look elsewhere to possibly strengthen the midfield.
