Matt O’Riley may have left Celtic 12 months ago, but the midfielder admits he still keeps a close eye on events at Parkhead.

Signed under Ange Postecoglou, O’Riley quickly became a key figure in midfield, and when Brendan Rodgers returned to the club, he kicked on again, and took his game to the next level, adding double figure goals to his game, which earned a near £30m move to Brighton last summer.

Despite swapping Glasgow for the Premier League, the 24-year-old says his connection to Celtic remains strong.

“I still follow all the games,” O’Riley told The Celtic Way. “Even though I don’t post that much on social media, I’m still watching every single game and trying to keep tabs on them.

“I’m still in contact with people. It’s hard in football to keep contact with everybody because it moves so fast and things change, but I did make some good friends up there, and I’m still in contact with a lot of staff at Celtic, which has been nice.”

O’Riley’s debut season in England was disrupted by injuries and squad rotation, limiting his impact. With several clubs from England, France and Italy reportedly interested in his services this summer, his future at Brighton is uncertain, but for now, he’s focused on getting a clean run of games and rediscovering the form that made him a fan favourite in Glasgow.

Hopefully, he can do that. He’s a top player, and has the potential to star in the Premier League.

Celtic didn’t make a like-for-like replacement with O’Riley. His numbers were replaced by Maeda and Kuhn, while Arne Engels took up the position in the middle of the pitch. The jury is still out on the Belgian, who is now competing for a place with summer signing Nygren.