Celtic can ease O’Riley blow by signing “remarkable” gem

Celtic continued their perfect start to the 2024/25 Scottish Premiership campaign with a 3-0 win over St Mirren away from Parkhead on Sunday.

The match saw full debuts, for the second time, for Paulo Bernardo and Adam Idah as both players started for the first time since their loan moves were made permanent.

Meanwhile, Kasper Schmeichel has now kept three clean sheets in his first three league matches for the club, whilst Viljami Sinisalo is still waiting for his debut between the sticks.

The summer transfer window officially slams shut on Friday night and it appears as though Celtic will be busy in the market over the next few days.

Star midfielder Matt O’Riley has signed for Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion for a reported fee of £26m , which could rise to £30m including add-ons.

The Denmark international was one of Brendan Rodgers‘ key players during the 2023/24 campaign and his exit looks set to tempt Celtic back into the market, as they have reportedly made a £6.5m bid to sign Augsburg central midfielder Arne Engels before the deadline on Friday.

Why losing Matt O’Riley is a big blow

The left-footed star is a proven Premiership performer who controlled and dominated matches in the middle of the park for the Hoops last season.

He has the ability to win matches on his own from midfield by driving forward to provide a huge threat as both a scorer and a creator of goals, which made him a nightmare for opposition teams to deal with.

The former MK Dons wizard earned himself an inclusion in the PFA Scotland Team of the Year for his performances for the Premiership champions, alongside teammates Callum McGregor, Cameron Carter-Vickers, and Liam Scales.

As you can see in the table above, O’Riley deserved his place in the league’s best XI because he was an incredibly influential figure at the top end of the pitch for the Hoops.

The Danish whiz was directly involved in 31 league goals for the Bhoys, with 18 goals and 13 assists, and topped the charts for his team as a scorer and a creator.

The 23-year-old maestro, who had produced three goals and 12 assists in 38 matches during the previous Premiership season, will be difficult to replace with one signing, due to his ability to score and assist goals, and that means that Celtic could need multiple additions to offset his departure.

Rather than trying to sign one central midfielder who can hit over 30 goal contributions in a single Premiership season, which would be unlikely given that the one they are about to sell is valued at £30m, they could sign a creative midfield and another wide forward with goalscoring pedigree.

How Celtic could replace Matt O’Riley

The aforementioned interest in Engels from Augsburg suggests that they could replace some of his creativity in the middle of the park by signing another midfielder.

The Belgian youngster only started 13 matches in the Bundesliga last term but his form in the 2022/23 season suggests that he has the potential to offer quality as a creator.

Engels started 18 Bundesliga matches that term and created four ‘big chances’, whilst making 1.3 key passes per game, and this shows that he could offer a creative presence in the middle of the park.

However, they could ease the blow of losing O’Riley by adding another attacker into the mix in the form of Norwich City winger Abu Kamara.

Earlier this month, it was reported that the Hoops are one of the teams keeping tabs on the England U20 international, who has handed in a transfer request at Carrow Road.

The English forward is seemingly keen to move on from the Championship side, hence his transfer request, and that could open up the door for Celtic to make a move for him before Friday’s deadline.

Why Celtic should swoop for Abu Kamara

Rodgers should swoop to sign the 21-year-old attacker for the Hoops because he is a talented young star who has the potential to provide a big threat at the top end of the pitch.

Whilst Engels is a midfielder with the quality to provide consistent creativity in the middle of the park, Kamara is a versatile forward who can play on either flank or through the middle as a centre-forward.

The left-footed sensation, who played with Idah at academy and first-team level in Norfolk, scored 43 goals in 80 games for Norwich’s U18s and U21s combined before his breakthrough in the senior side.

His incredible goalscoring form at academy level suggests that the potential is there for him to be a big goalscoring threat, whether that is as a winger or as a centre-forward or second striker, if Rodgers can help him to take the next step in his career.

As you can see in the table above, Kamara has already had one season of first-team football under his belt on loan with Portsmouth in the 2023/24 campaign.

The young gem caught the eye with his contributions as both a scorer and a creator of goals, with 18 direct contributions in 37 games, and this proves that he can deliver consistently in a senior setting.

Since returning to Norwich this summer, Kamara has not started a Championship match but did provide a goal and an assist in a start against Stevenage in the League Cup.

The English maestro, whose loan with Pompey was labelled “remarkable” by journalist Alie Bittar, has the attacking quality to provide Celtic with a boost in the final third, if he can carry his creativity from his time in League One over to Scotland whilst also unearthing the goalscoring form he displayed at academy level to ease the blow of losing O’Riley.