'Fearless' Celtic recruit lands Matt O'Riley comparison from ex Rangers stars as mega money prediction cast
Newcastle United star Alexander Isak lavished praise on the Hoops’ signing for his recent impact at international level
Celtic could well have unearthed the next Matt O’Riley in new summer signing Benjamin Nygren, according to two former Rangers stars.
Andy Halliday and Ross McCormack have both predicted that the Swedish international, who cost only £1.7 million from Danish side FC Nordsjælland earlier in the summer, has the potential to bank the Hoops mega money further down the line.
Brighton ace O’Riley was snapped up by the Parkhead club for a mere £1.5m from MK Dons back in January 2022.
Celtic went on to make a huge profit on the attacking midfielder - now a fully fledged Denmark international - when the English Premier League outfit forked out £25m to bring him to the Amex Stadium 12 months ago.
And current Motherwell star Halliday reckons Nygren could follow in O’Riley footsteps. Speaking on Clyde 1 Superscoreboard last night, he said: “We had a caller who talked about how Nygren; they have found another gem within him. He only cost Celtic (less than) £2million.
“He could be the next Matt O’Riley that we have been speaking about. You have to almost refrain from judgement, from now towards what is going to happen at Celtic until the end of the window.
“But I can’t disagree that I have been really surprised at how slow it (the recruitment) has been so far.”
McCormack was in agreement, commenting: “You can (still get gems without worrying about getting Champions League football) because, from what I have seen so far of the boy Nygren, he looks a very, very good player.
“Very similar, in my eyes, to somebody like Matt O’Riley. In stature, the way he sort of carries the ball and stuff.”
Nygren, who enjoyed a superb campaign in the Danish Superliga by scoring 15 times in 30 league outings last term, was recently dubbed as ‘fearless’ by his international teammate and Newcastle United talisman Alexander Isak.
He earned a first senior cap for Sweden in a shock defeat to Luxembourg in March before getting his name on the scoresheet in the 5-1 rout of Northern Ireland just a few days later.
Isak stated: “It was very good to play with Benjamin. I really enjoyed it. It’s clear he is a fearless players who has a lot of confidence. Playing with a winger like that who is able to provide good crosses can only be beneficial for someone like me.
“I think he did incredibly well in the two games and it was a nice boost for him that he was also able to score his goal too.”