Matt O'Riley on Celtic fast track to the top as Denmark insider labels him the next Christian Eriksen

Big-name stars Christian Eriksen and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg are the mainstays. While Brentford pair Mathias Jensen and Christian Norgaard are ripping it up in the Premier League.

Even the emerging talent – Jesper Lindstrom and Morten Hjulmand – are plying their trade at clubs like Napoli and Sporting Lisbon. So it won’t be easy for Celtic star Matt O’Riley to break into Denmark’s high- calibre midfield. But his time will undoubtedly come.

That’s according to former Aberdeen keeper Peter Kjaer, who is now a top football pundit for Danish station TV3. He has been impressed by O’Riley’s start to the season at Parkhead. So much so that he expected national team boss Kasper Hjulmand to hand the 22-year-old a call-up for their Euro 2024 double-header against Kazakhstan and San Marino. But it didn’t come – much to O’Riley’s disappointment.

Kjaer, who spent two years at Pittodrie in 2001, knows all about Scottish football. He believes that playing under pressure for Celtic and in the Champions League means O’Riley WILL get his chance for the Danes. And Kjaer feels it’s only because he’s up against some top-quality players in Hjulmand’s engine room that a first full cap hasn’t come sooner.

The ex-Denmark goalie, who was understudy to the legendary Peter Schmeichel for most of his career, told Record Sport : “Of course, it’s tough for O’Riley to break in when you look at the names already there. You have Eriksen, Hjobjerg, then Jensen and Norgaard at Brentford, and Lindstrom at Napoli. But he’ll do it one day because he’s young and playing for a top team. He’s making a real mark at Celtic.

“It’s just a matter of time. I think in a few games’ time or the next friendly he’ll be in there. I’ve seen O’Riley play, he’s a top player. I