Is Matt O’Riley now too good for Scottish football?

Perhaps there are better ways to phrase this question, given that the Celtic midfielder currently plays for a giant club and would benefit from another Champions League season if he stays this summer.

Should the Danish international move to his reportedly likely destination, Brighton, he would give up European football for the season but play his domestic games in the English top flight, which is, in the eyes of many, the best league in the world.

For this reason, the Scotsman’s Mark Atkinson believes that 23-year-old O’Riley has “outgrown Scottish football” and that it is now time for the midfielder to try his hand at the Premier League, as numerous former Celtic stars have done.

“I think he’s going to go,” Atkinson told the BBC’s Scottish Football Podcast. “It feels like the time is right and I think Celtic are ready for it.”

“Brighton wants to strengthen its squad under new coach (Fabian) Hurzeler. And there is a big gap in the midfield.

“They lost a really important player in Pascal Gross in the summer and I think O’Riley would fit in really well with Brighton’s possession-based style of play.

“Let’s be honest: He needs a new challenge for the sake of his career.”

It’s not hard to see why Brighton, Atalanta and Atletico Madrid have been vying for O’Riley.

He has been a key first-team player since joining from MK Dons for a bargain £1.5 million in January 2022, but last season he took his game to a new level under Brendan Rodgers, contributing 19 goals and 18 assists in 49 appearances.

With O’Riley signing a new contract until 2027 last year, Celtic are in no rush to sell but appear to be insisting on a similar amount to the record £25 million transfer fee they received for Kieran Tierney’s move to Arsenal in 2019.