GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - SEPTEMBER 01: Rangers Manager Philippe Clement during a William Hill Premiership match between Celtic and Rangers at Celtic Park, on September 01, 2024, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Alan Harvey/SNS Group via Getty Images)
Celtic have gained a strong reputation over the years for developing talented young prospects before selling them on for big profit to European teams.
The likes of Virgil van Dijk, who joined Southampton for £13m in 2015, Fraser Forster, Victor Wanyama, and Gary Hooper all earned big moves away from Parkhead from the Neil Lennon era.
More recently, Kieran Tierney completed a staggering £25m move to Premier League giants Arsenal from the Hoops in the summer of 2019, which made him the most expensive Scottish player in history.
That fee was matched by the one that the Bhoys raked in from Saudi Pro League side Al Ittihad for Portuguese forward Jota, who left for £25m in the summer of 2023.
These sales show that the Hoops have made a habit of raking in huge sums of money for their talents over the years, which suggests that they have created a nurturing environment that allows players to thrive whilst winning trophies for the club.
The latest example of their fantastic work in that respect is central midfielder Matt O’Riley, who recently completed a move to Premier League side Brighton & Hove Albion.
Celtic’s Matt O’Riley blinder
Former Celtic head coach Ange Postecoglou moved to sign the English-born starlet from League One side MK Dons for a reported fee of £1.5m at the start of 2022.
The 21-year-old central midfielder did not take long to adjust to football in Scotland, with a return of four goals and three assists in 16 Scottish Premiership appearances.
It was immediately clear that the Hoops had struck gold by signing the midfield maestro for a fee of just £1.5m, as he made an instant impact as both a scorer and a creator of goals for the club.
O’Riley followed that up with four goals and 14 assists in 52 appearances in all competitions for the Scottish giants in his first full season under Postecoglou.
The 23-year-old star then produced a staggering 19 goals and 18 assists in 49 outings in all competitions for Celtic under Brendan Rodgers last term, with the bulk of those goal contributions coming in the Premiership.
As you can see in the table above, the Denmark international provided a huge threat as both a scorer and a creator of goals from a central midfield position for the Northern Irish head coach in the 2023/24 campaign.
His sensational form in Scotland attracted interest from down south and Brighton & Hove Albion eventually won the race for his signature for a reported fee of £25m.
Celtic played a blinder with the former Fulham prospect as they snapped him up for just £1.5m from MK Dons and turned him into a £25m player in less than three years.
The Hoops do not always manage their talent perfectly, however, as they once allowed a player to leave for nothing and he is now worth more than O’Riley in the present day.
Celtic fumbled Andy Robertson
Current Liverpool star Andy Robertson started his youth career with the Bhoys in 2003, at the age of nine, and spent six years in the academy before his departure in 2009.
The Scottish ace was released in the summer of 2009, at the age of 15, and later revealed that he went home and cried after that rejection, as it was his dream – having been a season ticket holder at the club at the age of two – to play in front of a packed out crowd at Parkhead.
Robertson has also spoken of the reasons behind his exit from Paradise. The Hoops opted against keeping hold of the youngster due to his lack of height and physicality, whilst he was one of a number of players who were allowed to move on for that reason.
The young gem was then picked up by Queen’s Park before joining Dundee United in the Premiership in 2013, which is where he produced three goals and six assists in 36 league outings.
After just one season with Dundee United, Premier League outfit Hull City swooped in to sign him for a reported fee of £2.8m in 2014, and that is where his rise in English football began.
Andy Robertson’s current market value
At the time of writing (12/09/2024), Robertson currently has an Expected Transfer Value (xTV) of €34.6m (£29.2m), as per FootballTransfers, thanks to his fantastic form over the years in England.
This means that he is currently worth more than Matt O’Riley, who just joined Brighton for £25m, despite being seven years older than the Dane – at 30.
His rise in value over the years has been down to his sensational form for Liverpool, having signed for the Reds after three years and 115 appearances for Hull, where he has won the Premier League and the Champions League.
Jurgen Klopp’s side paid an initial fee of £8m, rising to £10m, for the Scotland international in the summer of 2017 and his current market value suggests that they struck gold, as he is worth significantly more than that after seven years at Anfield.
As you can see in the table above, the Scottish dynamo has been a consistent source of creativity down the left flank for Liverpool over the years.
Robertson has racked up 59 assists in his Premier League career, for the Reds and Hull combined, and currently tops the charts for assists by a defender in the history of the league, as he has overtaken Trent Alexander-Arnold’s return of 58.
The Liverpool star, who was once described as a “world-class” player by Klopp, has developed into one of the best defenders in Premier League history, as evidenced by the incredible record he currently holds.
All of this – his soaring value, his performances, Klopp’s praise, his record in the English top-flight – suggests that Celtic blundered when they released him for nothing back in 2009, as they failed to make the most of the ‘world-class’ talent on their books.
