Celtic’s Matt O’Riley impressed in the recently concluded season, managing 19 goals and 18 assists in 49 games for Brendan Rodgers’ side.
That may have been enough to attract interest from Atletico Madrid and others, but wasn’t enough for him to make it to the Denmark squad for the Euros this summer.
Danish journalist Jesper Engmann, writing in his column for Jyllands-Posten, analyses Kasper Hjulmand’s decision to leave the Celtic star off the list.
Hjulmand has selected Manchester United’s Christian Eriksen, Tottenham Hotspur’s Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Brentford duo Mathias Jensen and Christian Norgaard, Anderlecht’s Thomas Delaney and Sporting’s Morten Hjulmand as his midfielders.
Not all featured regularly for their respective clubs, but they have made it to the final squad, mainly because of their experience and the roles they had in helping the national team qualify for the Euros.
The Celtic midfielder didn’t impress his national manager in Denmark’s 2-0 defeat to Northern Ireland last November.
A section of the Danish media and their fans felt the 23-year-old’s displays for Celtic was sufficient for him to be picked for the Euros.
Engmann is happy with O’Riley’s form for Rodgers’ side, but he’s not pleased with the club he represents. The journalist is of the belief the quality in the top division in Scotland is lower than that in the Danish league.
‘Great numbers. There is no doubt that his fighting form is good. In return, he plays in a league where perhaps only Celtic and Rangers would be able to make it in the Superligaen [Danish league],’ he said.
Engmann further adds the midfielders picked for the Euros are ‘on a higher shelf’, with four of them are playing in the Premier League, one in Portugal and another in Belgium.
O’Riley has represented Denmark only twice, and a lack of experience could be another reason for his omission.
Despite the Euros disappointment, Engmann remains confident the Celtic midfielder could start featuring regularly for the national team in the near future.
