Celtic are having fun with the ultimate worldwide break of the season earlier than they return to Scottish Premiership motion in opposition to Hearts at Parkhead subsequent weekend.
The Hoops are 13 factors away from Rangers within the top-flight desk and are heading in the right direction to win the league for a fourth successive season, while they’ve already gained the League Cup and are within the semi-finals of the SFA Cup.
It has been a terrific marketing campaign for Brendan Rodgers and his facet, which can not have been what supporters anticipated after they – as soon as once more – cashed in on certainly one of their greatest gamers final summer season.
Celtic’s report gross sales | ||
|---|---|---|
Participant | Membership joined | Reported price |
Matt O’Riley | Brighton | £25m+ |
Jota | Al-Ittihad | £25m |
Kieran Tierney | Arsenal | £25m |
Moussa Dembele | Lyon | £19.7m |
Odsonne Edouard | Crystal Palace | £18.5m |
As you may see within the desk above, Celtic broke their switch report after they offered Matt O’Riley to Premier League facet Brighton & Hove Albion for a price of greater than £25m final 12 months.
He went for much more than the likes of Jota and Kieran Tierney, who are actually set to be teammates in Glasgow subsequent season, after his distinctive shows for the Hoops within the 2023/24 marketing campaign.
The previous Fulham and MK Dons starlet was a massively necessary participant to Celtic and Rodgers final time period, but they’ve excelled since his departure from the membership.
Why Matt O’Riley was so necessary to Celtic
The Danish attacking midfielder gained the Participant of the Yr and Gamers’ Participant of the Yr awards on the membership’s end-of-season awards night time final summer season, which speaks to how extremely regarded he was by followers and teammates alike.
He earned these awards and that respect by delivering constantly sensible performances on the pitch in an attacking midfield function for the Scottish giants within the 2023/24 marketing campaign.
23/24 Premiership | Matt O’Riley | Squad rank |
|---|---|---|
Sofascore score | 7.91 | 1st |
Targets | 18 | 1st |
Assists | 13 | 1st |
Large possibilities created | 14 | 1st |
Key passes per recreation | 2.5 | 1st |
Stats through Sofascore | ||
As you may see within the desk above, O’Riley was probably the most influential attacking pressure within the Celtic squad along with his skill to each scorer and help targets in the midst of the park.
The left-footed wizard had the flexibility, as proven within the clip under, to ghost into the field to place himself in terrific positions to get a shot away and rating.
O’Riley ended the season with a return of 18 targets and 16 assists within the Premiership and the Champions League mixed, which satisfied Brighton to interrupt the financial institution to safe his companies for greater than £25m.
After the Denmark worldwide was offered to the Seagulls, Celtic dipped into the market to interrupt their switch report to signal Arne Engels from Augsburg for £11m.
Why Arne Engels has been a superb signing for Celtic
The Belgium worldwide has been a superb addition to the squad as far as he has been in a position to hit the bottom operating in his first season at Parkhead.
Celtic wanted an instantaneous injection of targets and assists from midfield after O’Riley moved on from the membership, and that’s precisely what Engels has supplied with ten targets and 12 assists in 42 matches in all competitions.
The 21-year-old expertise was introduced in for a major price and there might have been expectations due to that, which is why his return in entrance of objective from midfield below the strain of expectation and the switch price is especially spectacular.
Engels, who has proven nice composure from the penalty spot this season, might not be the following O’Riley for Celtic, although, within the sense of being this upcoming summer season’s huge summer season sale.
As an alternative, Rodgers might have unearthed his new model of the Danish star in German ahead Nicolas Kuhn, who might be offered for a giant revenue this summer season.
Why Nicolas Kuhn might be the brand new Matt O’Riley
The summer season switch window is just a few months away from formally opening for enterprise and the left-footed winger has been linked with a big-money transfer away from Parkhead.
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It was claimed final month that Premier League facet Newcastle United maintain an curiosity within the former Bayern Munich prospect, and that the Hoops are set to demand a price of at the very least £20m for his companies, which might make him the fourth-most costly participant within the membership’s historical past.
This implies that there’s tangible curiosity within the ahead, who was linked with Brentford and Fulham earlier within the season, forward of the following switch window, which is why he might be the brand new O’Riley as the most recent big-money sale for Celtic, reasonably than Engels – who doesn’t seem to have as many suitors lining as much as pay £20m+ for him this 12 months.
Rodgers deserves nice credit score for the work he has executed with the German attacker as a result of his type has vastly improved from his first 5 months on the membership, following his transfer to Paradise from Speedy Vienna at first of final 12 months.
Nicolas Kuhn (Premiership) | 23/24 | 24/25 |
|---|---|---|
Appearances | 14 | 25 |
Targets | 2 | 10 |
Large possibilities created | 5 | 8 |
Key passes per recreation | 1.3 | 1.7 |
Assists | 2 | 7 |
Dribbles accomplished per recreation | 1.4 | 1.9 |
Stats through Sofascore | ||
As you may see within the desk above, the 25-year-old star has delivered targets, key passes, assists, and accomplished dribbles extra incessantly than he did within the second half of final season.
Kuhn, who has been described as “breathtaking” by pundit Marvin Bartley, has racked up 18 targets and 13 assists in all competitions for the Hoops this season, which exhibits that he’s near matching O’Riley’s haul of targets and assists from the 2023/24 marketing campaign.
The previous Speedy Vienna man, who was signed for £3m in January of final 12 months, has supplied a continuing menace as a scorer and a creator of targets, simply because the Dane did, and that might, now, earn him a £20m+ transfer to the Premier League this summer season.
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Subsequently, Rodgers seems to have unearthed his subsequent O’Riley by turning a £3m signing right into a constant ahead who might make a big-money transfer away from Parkhead in the summertime, incomes the membership a major revenue on him within the course of.
