IT has been quite the year for Matt O’Riley. The midfielder’s seamless adaption to life in Glasgow’s goldfish bowl can make it feel like he has been a fixture of the Celtic team for some time now, and it can be easy to forget that he hasn’t even celebrated his one-year anniversary at the club yet.
The Parkhead faithful have taken the playmaker to their hearts since he arrived from MK Dons in January as they have learned more about the 22-year-old, who first arrived in Scotland as a largely unknown prospect.
O’Riley’s time at Celtic has been an education for the man himself, too. It has been a year of firsts for the former Fulham man – there has been a first European appearance, a first call-up to Denmark’s Under-21 squad, a first league title secured and a first Champions League outing. Not bad for a player who, as recently as 12 months ago, was plying his trade in England’s third tier.
