Brighton sign O´Riley from Celtic on five-year deal

Brighton have announced the signing of Matt O’Riley from Celtic on a five-year contract.

The Denmark international was signed for a fee believed to be more than £25million, a new record transfer fee received by a Scottish club.

O’Riley joined Celtic in January 2022 from MK Dons, going on to make 124 appearances for the Scottish champions. He scored 27 goals and registered 35 assists in all competitions for them.

In the Scottish Premiership last season, only Lawrence Shankland (24) scored more goals than O’Riley (18), while he got the most assists (13).

Of his goals, 13 were scored from big chances, while he created the third-most chances of any player in the competition (93), behind only James Tavernier and Danny Armstrong.

We are pleased to confirm the club has completed the signing of midfielder Matt O’Riley from Celtic, for an undisclosed fee!

— Brighton & Hove Albion (@OfficialBHAFC) August 26, 2024

“He plays a very specialist position; he is very good at occupying and attacking the right space. He likes making deep runs, and knows when to attack at the right time,” Brighton manager Fabian Hurzeler said of his new signing.

“He enjoys getting forward and attacking the opponent’s penalty area, but he also has a good defensive instinct. That balance makes him special. He is a great character and has a good ambition to succeed and that’s something which is very important for us.”

Celtic had rejected five bids from Atalanta from O’Riley, with their highest offer being £21.5m plus add-ons.

The 23-year-old is Brighton’s eighth signing of the transfer window, following Yakuba Minteh, Mats Wieffer, Amario Cozier-Duberry, Malick Yalcouye, Brajan Gruda, Ibrahim Osman, and Georginio Rutter into the club.