‘Win-win for all parties’ – Celtic make strides towards striking deal for MK Dons midfielder: The verdict | OneFootball

This article is part of Football League World’s ‘The Verdict‘ series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Celtic are edging closer to the signing of MK Dons midfielder Matt O’Riley, as per a report from The Athletic.

Prior to this latest update, it appeared the Blackburn Rovers and Swansea City were battling away for the 21-year-old’s signature.

O’Riley has enjoyed an excellent start to the new campaign with the Dons, scoring seven times and assisting a further five in 26 League One appearances.

Quiz: Can you name which club MK Dons signed these 28 defenders from?

1 of 28

Tennai Watson?

The young midfielder has proven to be a versatile option for Liam Manning’s side thus far, proving to be just as competent of an option as a holding midfielder, as he is in a number 10 role.

Three of our writers here at FLW have shared their thoughts regarding Celtic’s interest in the MK Dons midfielder…

Josh Cole

This could prove to be a good long-term investment by Celtic as Matt O’Riley has shown some real signs of promise during the current campaign for MK Dons.

As well as providing 12 direct goal contributions in League One, the midfielder has made two tackles per game this season and is averaging 2.1 key passes per fixture at this level (as per WhoScored).

Whilst it may take O’Riley some time to adapt to life at Celtic Park due to the fact that he has never played in the Scottish Premiership, he could eventually go on to become a key player for the club.

Providing that O’Riley is able to make a positive impact for Celtic in the coming months, he could help his new side launch a bid for the title.

Chris Thorpe

It’s certainly a good addition for them and a brillaint move for O’Riley who finally gets a move to a big club.

He has done really since moving to Buckinghamshire and is deserving of all the credit coming his way.

There’s no doubt he’ll be a hit in the Scottish Premiership moving forwards and he is certainly the type of creative talent that Celtic need right now.

It’ll be a big loss for MK but at the same time they will still be grateful for the money that they are due to receive.

Overall it’s a win-win for all parties.

George Dagless

I really like the sound of this one.

O’Riley is a classy operator and I think it was only a matter of time before a club from higher up the EFL or Scotland, as Celtic have, came calling for his services.

His move to MK Dons has proven hugely profitable for him and in that time he has shown just how good he is on the ball and at helping his team control games.

Celtic are naturally a side that dominates possession more often than not in Scotland purely because of the talent and quality they have in comparison to most of their opponents, and in O’Riley they’re now getting a player who will be able to use that advantage to real effect.

I think it’s a really exciting signing for Celtic, and it’ll be fascinating seeing how he adjusts to the demands of playing for such a big football club.