Celtic told they could easily make £10m profit if they sell ‘wonderful’ player

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Celtic would make a big profit on Matt O’Riley if they were to sell the Premier League-linked playmaker with former Old Firm rival Barry Ferguson valuing the former Fulham man at around £15 million. 

As Celtic went toe-to-toe with Atletico Madrid on the biggest stage in European football, Matt O’Riley produced a performance fit for a thespian. There was no ‘corpsing’. No forgetting his lines in a performance which, as the review came flooding in, proved beyond all doubt that O’Riley belongs in the Champions League. 

His assist to set up Kyogo Furuhashi’s early opener in that Atletico draw was nothing short of sublime, Celtic team-mate Alistair Johnston quipping in the aftermath that the bidding for the London-born Dane should now start at £50 million. 

Barry Ferguson, a five-time Scottish Premiership champion at Rangers, does not go quite that far.

But he does believe that, if Celtic were to cash in on O’Riley during the winter window, the Glasgow giants would make a big profit on the £1.5 million investment they made back in 2022, when signing the silky schemer from third-tier MK Dons.

Matt O’Riley a £1.5 million bargain for Celtic

“O’Riley’s the perfect example (of the success of Celtic’s transfer strategy),” Ferguson tells Go Radio Football Show. “What would you expect for Matt O’Riley (in terms of a transfer fee)? £12 – £15m for him? 

“He’s worth that. And he’s only 22.”

O’Riley has ten goal contributions (six goals, four assists) in just 14 games this season. Taking his game to another level despite the summer departure of talismanic head coach Ange Postecoglou. 

Leeds had a bid rejected in August, per Sky Sports, while Newcastle, Arsenal and Manchester United have all been credited with an interest in recent windows. 

‘He’s a wonderful footballer’

“I like him a lot. I think he is a really intelligent footballer. He is a top professional,” Brendan Rodgers told Sky Sports earlier this term.  

“I really like him. His build-up play is good. He needs to work on his pressing and intensity. But he is a wonderful footballer and he is a good guy as well.”