This current Celtic team are insipid, uninspiring and lifeless in attack, so just imagine how much Matt O’Riley would improve everything.
When the 20 year old arrived from Milton Keynes in January 2022 for a reported fee of £1.5m, no one could’ve forecast just how good he would be.
In the end, the Danish international is in the conversation to be Celtic’s best attacking midfielder of modern times, scoring 27 goals and registering 35 assists in 124 appearances for the Hoops, named the club’s player of the year and players’ player of the year in 2023/24.
He was sold to Brighton & Hove Albion for £25m just 13 months ago, before joining Olympique de Marseille on a season-long loan this summer, starting les Phocéens’ Champions League opener against Real Madrid at the Bernabéu on Tuesday.
As replacements Arne Engels and Benjamin Nygren struggle to hit the heights O’Riley reached in Glasgow, did Celtic sell their own homegrown version, whose value has increased by almost 1,300% since leaving?
A lack of pathways for Celtic youngsters
Most top-flight Scottish clubs, not just Celtic, are often criticised for not giving academy graduates an opportunity.
Of course, current squad members Kieran Tierney, Callum McGregor, James Forrest and, to a slightly lesser extent, Anthony Ralston have managed to come through the academy and become first-team regulars, but the vast majority do not.
The table below documents a selection of Celtic academy youngsters who have been forced to depart in search of regular first-team action.
Joey Dawson
1
Scunthorpe
Daniel Cummings
1
West Ham
Rocco Vata
6
Watford
Bosun Lawal
1
Stoke
Daniel Kelly
6
Millwall
Conor Hazard
7
Plymouth
Karamoko Dembélé
10
Brest
Owen Moffat
3
Blackpool
Ben Gannon Doak
2
Liverpool
Armstrong Oko-Flex
2
West Ham
As the table documents, none of the players listed made more than ten appearances for Celtic’s first team, all sold for, at most, nominal compensation fees.
Karamoko Dembélé was the most-hyped, but Ben Gannon Doak is the name that leaps off the page, given that he just joined Bournemouth from Liverpool in a deal worth £25m, and is a starter for Steve Clarke’s Scotland side.
Due to post-Brexit rules, English clubs in particular are looking north of the border for talent, given that it is now more difficult to bring youngsters in from the EU.
Thus, is there another Celtic youngster who departed seven years ago who they may rue selling most of all?
Forgotten former Celtic youngster starring in Italy
During the 2010s, brothers Liam and Ewan Henderson were both coming through the Celtic young ranks together to plenty of excitement.
Liam, the older of the duo, made his senior debut against Motherwell in December 2013, actually accumulating 37 appearances in total, albeit 23 were as a substitute.
Where Are They Now
Your star player or biggest flop has left the club but what are they doing in the present day? This article is part of Football FanCast’s Where Are They Now series.
He spent six months on loan at Rosenborg, before also being loaned out to Hibernian, etching himself into club history by helping Hibs win the Scottish Cup for the first time in 114 years, coming off the bench to provide two assists against Rangers in the final.
Ian Crocker’s commentary line, “it’s Liam Henderson to deliver”, now a core part of Hibs’ folklore.
However, he did not manage to have quite the same impact at Celtic, despite the fact Brendan Rodgers said “as time goes on, he impresses me even more… what I love about Liam, he’s got great personality”.
Nevertheless, he was sold to Bari in January 2018 for just £115k, and has called Italy home ever since.
After making just 19 appearances for I Galletti, he spent time at Hellas Verona, Empoli on loan and Lecce, re-joining Empoli permanently in 2021, featuring 119 times for the Azzurri, a key figure during their stay in Serie A, racking up 15 assists.
This summer, he finally departed Stadio Carlo Castellani, joining fallen giants Sampdoria, scoring on his debut for I Blucerchiati against Spezia in the Coppa Italia, starting their first three Serie B matches subsequently.
Thus, Football Transfers estimate that his current market value is around £1.6m, which represents a 1291% increase on the £115k he departed Celtic for.
Also, according to Global Football Rankings, Serie A, where Henderson has played the vast majority of his football, is the second-strongest league in the world, while his current home Serie B is 30th, just three spots below the Scottish Premiership.
Thus, it is unquestionable that Henderson possesses the talent and the quality to have been a key contributor at Celtic, had things panned out differently, or at the very least been able to bring in a significantly higher transfer fee.
A creative midfield star at a string of clubs since departing Parkhead, there is a sense that the Glasgow side have perhaps let a homegrown O’Riley slip from their grasp.