Given Celtic’s place in the global football pecking order, they are well-versed when it comes to selling a star player and being able to replace him.
Of course, a lot of the time, the Hoops’ excellent record in the transfer market means they’re able to replace their high-quality departures with signings.
However, Brendan Rodgers is also looking for his current players to step up and perform, with one player in particular having done exactly that this season.
Matt O'Riley impact at Celtic
Matt O’Riley arrived at Celtic from Milton Keynes for a reported fee of £1.5m in January 2022, and the fact he was then sold to Brighton two-and-a-half years later for a club-record £25m gives you a bit of an indication as to how well he performed in Glasgow.
The midfielder made 124 appearances in hoops, scoring 27 goals and registering 35 assists, winning seven major trophies as well as being named the club’s Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year before departing.
Ankan Bhowmick of Sports Illustrated labels the Danish international one of Celtic’s ‘best-performing’ players of their successful modern history, while Clive Lindsay of BBC Sport believes he has the quality to go to the very top, saying that his ‘languid running style’ can be ‘deceiving’ given that he’s a ‘quality…all-rounder’.
Given all of this, O’Riley was always going to leave a rather large void at Parkhead, but Celtic haven’t really missed him, thanks to a key player stepping up, but it’s not the player you might be thinking of.
Celtic's current creative focal point
Arne Engels was signed for a club-record fee of £11m from Augsburg on deadline day, to be O’Riley direct replacement.
However, as outlined by Andrew Newport of the Daily Record, the midfielder has, at times, not quite lived up to expectations so far, with the Belgian himself stating “I don’t care about the price tag… I think I have good numbers and good performances”.
Engels has accumulated ten goals and 12 assists in a Celtic jersey so far, but it is actually Alistair Johnston who has shouldered the creative burden following O’Riley’s exit.
The Canadian international was rewarded with a new contract back in November, with manager Rodgers describing the right-back as “phenomenal”, praising his “desire to improve in everything he does”, adding that “these are the qualities which make a great player”.
Joe Callaghan of the Guardian notes that Johnston has become a “cornerstone” for both club and country, with his performances seeing him included on the long-list for Best FIFA Men’s XI of 2024.
So, let’s analyse how he and O’Riley are similar, despite operating in different positions.
Appearances
29
37
Minutes
2,421
3249
Goals
4
18
Assists
8
13
Chances created
38
91
Big chances created
14
14
Passed attempted
2,023
1986
Through-balls
7
16
Take-on success %
50%
52.11%
Ball recoveries
100
208
Touches per 90
98
78
Of course, due to the obvious aforementioned positional differences, Johnston and O’Riley’s statistics are often somewhat different, although the fact that both created 14 big chances certainly jumps off the page, with the Canadian registering more of those than any other Celtic player this season.
During the most recent international window in March, Canada’s manager Jesse Marsch stated “there are some weeks I watch Alistair and I think… the games are too easy for him… players do need to be challenged.”
So, while Johnston is playing like O’Riley on the park, could he follow the Dane’s path off the pitch by becoming the latest Celtic fan favourite to be sold for an enormous profit?
Now worth 3x less than Johnston: Celtic struck gold selling "immense" star
Celtic full-back Alistair Johnston has been exceptional this season, ensuring one man remains rather forgotten in the past
ByBen GrayApr 18, 2025