Celtic head coach Brendan Rodgers was able to move a number of players on from the fringes of his first-team squad during the summer transfer window.
Mikey Johnston, Hyeon-gyu Oh, Sead Haksabanovic, and Tomoki Iwata all left on permanent deals, to West Bromwich Albion, Genk, Malmo, and Birmingham respectively.
Those exits helped to allow the Hoops to bring in the likes of Arne Engels, Adam Idah, Paulo Bernardo, and Kasper Schmeichel, among others.
However, there was at least one player who Rodgers may have wanted to keep, and one dud who he would have wanted to move on, with the former being Matt O’Riley.
Matt O'Riley's exit from Celtic
Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion swooped in to sign the Denmark international for a Scottish record transfer fee of more than £25m.
That came after the left-footed magician enjoyed a terrific campaign in the middle of the park for Celtic in the Scottish Premiership, as he showcased his ability as both a scorer and a creator of goals.
Sofascore rating
7.91
1st
Goals
18
1st
Assists
13
1st
Big chances created
14
1st
Key passes per game
2.5
1st
As you can see in the table above, O’Riley was the manager’s biggest source of goals and assists in the league last season, which attracted interest from Brighton.
Rodgers would surely have preferred to have kept such a talent, who was reportedly on £14k-per-week in Glasgow, but the Hoops opted to accept the huge offer from the Seagulls.
Meanwhile, a player the Northern Irish manager would surely have wanted to have moved on from the squad – James McCarthy – remained at Parkhead.
James McCarthy's Celtic career in numbers
Ange Postecoglou signed the Ireland international on a free transfer in the summer of 2021, after his contract with Crystal Palace had come to an end that summer.
The Hoops reportedly handed the midfielder a wage of £14k-per-week, as much as O’Riley earned at the club, and it has not turned out to be great value for money thus far.
He has earned around £728k-per-season so far, £2.18m in total across his three full seasons at Parkhead – along with roughly £220k since the start of July this term. This means that Celtic have spent around £2.4m in wages on the Irishman since his arrival in 2021.
The veteran midfielder has only made 27 appearances in all competitions since his move to the club, and 22 of those came in the 2021/22 campaign.
McCarthy, who was described as “lost” on the pitch by pundit Frank McAvennie in 2022, has not featured in a matchday squad for the Hoops since November 2022 and has not made an appearance for Celtic since October 2022. There is even some confusion over whether he is actually still on the books, or not, having been removed from the squad list on the club’s official website.
Regardless, this means that the former Wigan star has earned over £1m in wages, at £14k-per-week, since his last outing in a competitive game for the Scottish giants, which speaks to how much of a flop the signing has been.
Celtic have not got value for money for the wages they have spent on the midfielder, as illustrated by the huge impact O’Riley had on the pitch for the club last season whilst earning the same weekly wage.
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Therefore, Postecoglou had a nightmare by bringing the Irishman to Glasgow in 2021 and the Bhoys have wasted £2.4m and counting on the dud, whose contract does not expire until next summer.