Last summer, Celtic reportedly banked a joint-club-record fee of £25m for Denmark international Matt O’Riley when they sold him to Brighton & Hove Albion.
The 24-year-old maestro moved on from Parkhead after an exceptional return of 18 goals and 13 assists in 36 appearances in the Scottish Premiership during the 2023/24 campaign.
O’Riley provided a huge threat at the top end of the pitch, particularly as a goalscorer, and that earned him a big-money move to the Premier League last year.
The Dane’s departure meant that Brendan Rodgers did not have a natural goalscoring midfielder who could chip in with anywhere near as many as the left-footed star did.
Celtic lacked a consistent goal threat in midfield
The Hoops signed Arne Engels from Augsburg to ‘replace’ O’Riley and the Belgian did provide a threat at the top end of the pitch, ending the season with ten goals and 12 assists in all competitions.
However, seven of his nine goals in the Premiership came from the penalty spot in his first year in Glasgow, which shows that he did not offer a huge threat from open play as a goalscorer.
|
Celtic’s goal threat from midfield |
||
|---|---|---|
|
24/25 Premiership |
Starts |
Non-penalty goals |
|
Arne Engels |
21 |
2 |
|
Reo Hatate |
24 |
9 |
|
Callum McGregor |
29 |
8 |
|
Luke McCowan |
12 |
5 |
|
Paulo Bernardo |
11 |
2 |
As you can see in the table above, none of Celtic’s central midfielders hit double figures for goals last season, but they did spread the goals among them.
The Premiership champions are now reportedly one of the teams in the race to sign former Burnley star Josh Brownhill on a free transfer, and he could be their best central midfield signing since O’Riley.
Why Brownhill would be Celtic’s best midfielder since O’Riley
The experienced midfield star would be an influential figure in the middle of the park for the Hoops, as he is fresh off the back of an exceptional campaign with Burnley in the English Championship.
His brilliant performances in central midfield helped the Clarets to earn promotion to the Premier League by finishing in second place in the league, as he showcased his ability to make a big impact in the final third.
Unlike the options Rodgers currently has in his squad, Brownhill has the potential to deliver O’Riley-esque numbers in front of goal after an 18-goal haul in the Championship.
Only three of those 18 goals came from the penalty spot, which means that he scored six more goals than the top-scoring Celtic midfielder at league level last term.
The 29-year-old star, who was lauded as “immense” by journalist Josh Bunting, could be the man to finally replace the prolific level of scoring that O’Riley provided when he was at Parkhead in the 2023/24 campaign.
Brownhill also made 2.3 tackles and interceptions per game for his team, whilst no Hoops midfielder managed more than 2.0 tackles and interceptions per match, which suggests that the potential is also there for him to offer more to the team out of possession as a screening presence in front of the defence.
These statistics show that the free agent maestro has the qualities to be an exceptional addition to the squad on a free transfer, as he has the goalscoring and defensive capability to be the club’s best central midfield player since O’Riley left to sign for Brighton as a standout offensively and defensively.
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No Celtic midfielder has stepped up to take on the goalscoring mantle from the Dane in the past 12 months, but Brownhill’s form for Burnley suggests that he is the man to step up for Rodgers, which is why they must push to get a deal done for him in the coming days.
