‘Kind Of Player That Celtic Are Missing’ – Ex-Scotland Star Spots Issue | OneFootball

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Former Scotland star Alan Rough is of the view that Celtic are missing a player of Matt O’Riley’s capabilities in the team.

Celtic bought O’Riley from MK Dons in the winter of 2022 and he featured in 124 games for the Bhoys, while netting 27 goals and assisting 35 times.

O’Riley played a key role in helping Celtic win the domestic treble in the 2022/23 season and his performances for the Bhoys did not go unnoticed, as in the summer of 2024, Brighton & Hove Albion came calling for the midfielder.

Celtic sanctioned O’Riley’s departure while banking a hefty fee in the region of £30m and former Bhoys star Nir Bitton stated that the Dane’s move to the Premier League did not shock him due to the player’s quality.

In recent years Celtic have sold several of their key players for hefty fees and a large section of the Hoops faithful believe they have not invested the money in replacing those players properly.

Rough is of the view that Celtic are missing a player of O’Riley’s pedigree and pointed out that the Danish star offers creativity in midfield, which the Parkhead outfit lack at the moment.

“I would have to say he is the kind of player that Celtic are missing right now”, Rough said on PLZ Soccer (2:55).

“He does get in the box, he does score goals and he has got a wee bit of dig in midfield.

“I do not think in the centre or midfield Celtic have got that wee bit of dig when you need it and he had that and you can see why he went down south.”

Celtic are closing in on appointing Wilfried Nancy as their new boss, with the Columbus Crew coach expected to take over soon.

Nancy will be hoping to receive some backing in the approaching winter transfer window, especially if Celtic are to retain the Scottish Premiership title this season.