Celtic midfielder, Matt O’Riley, has been labelled as a ‘great’ talent by Denmark boss, Kasper Hjulmand this week.
The national boss gave O’Riley his big chance last night against Northern Ireland and despite suffering a 2-0 loss, the 23-year-old Celtic player performed really well.
Despite being critical of his own performance, O’Riley has impressed Hjulmand and he has shared exactly why he has chosen the Celtic midfielder to be part of his senior Denmark squad.
Hjulmand said [Bold], “The last two summers there has been voluntary training leading up to some June windows, and Matt just comes over right away.
“At U21 he was good and I actually think he has taken extra steps this autumn, especially in the international matches.
“We want to see him and that’s one of the answers we can get. Of course, it’s not crucial for Matt to play his first match, and then it’s win or lose. That is not the case.
“It’s a great midfield talent that we want to put into play.”
O’Riley has now broken his international cap duck and I am sure that he will go on to be a pivotal part of future Denmark squads.
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With Euro 2024 not too far away, O’Riley has plenty of time to continue to stake his claim in the 25-man Danish squad as Celtic continue to fight on two domestic fronts for silverware and in the Champions League.
O’Riley has been outstanding in Europe’s top competition and his goals for Celtic, domestically, have been pivotal in opening up an eight-point gap at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
At just 23 (Happy Birthday, Matt!) O’Riley has his best years ahead of him and if he continues his current rate of improvement, it won’t be long till a team from the big leagues comes calling for his signature.
In other news, ‘Best midfielder in Scotland’… Peter Martin says Celtic have a player who’s better than Matt O’Riley