After a storming start to the campaign with Celtic, Matt O’Riley managed to earn himself a call-up to the Denmark national team for the current international break.
It didn’t look like he would at first, but Kasper Hjulmand then brought him in, and he will have two games to get his debut.
The Celtic midfielder has been something of a revelation since his arrival from MK Dons in January 2022, but his career could have been very different had he managed to get a transfer to Denmark back in 2019, as he revealed to the Danish media, relayed by Bold, on Tuesday.
This was at a time when he was at Fulham, for whom he ended up making five professional appearances before leaving in July 2020.
He then went six months without a club before MK Dons picked up him up and gave him a chance that he grabbed with both hands.
Now at Celtic, who are more than delighted to have him and his goalscoring ability from midfield, O’Riley revealed the details of a collapsed transfer.
He said: “I was actually close to moving to Brøndby a long time ago, when I was in Fulham. I was in Denmark and I actually saw a match that they played against FCK. I think they were some mega cool fans, and that it was absolutely crazy.
“At that point in my career, I thought I could play there, but I didn’t get to, and that was a shame. I don’t know (why it didn’t happen) and I don’t really remember. I watched the game, went home and that was it. It was a bit strange. It was a bit of a special situation at Fulham and I didn’t know if I should sign a contract there.”
