Matt O'Riley rewarded for Celtic form as Denmark path becomes clear with call up

Celtic midfielder Matt O'Riley has been called up to the Denmark Under-21 squad.

The former MK Dons man joined Ange Postecoglou's side in January and slotted straight into his three-man engine room.

Last month it was revealed that Danish assistant and former Celtic man Morten Weighorst had paid a visit to match O'Riley in action.

He liked what he saw and now he's been rewarded with a call-up, though he will start as a member of the Under-21s to begin with with a Euros qualifier against Belgium to come on March 29.

O'Riley, who qualifies through his mum, won't be eligible for long and he'll hope to catch the eye of miracle-working manager Kasper Hjulmand.

Last month he said: “First and foremost, Matt has to make up his mind whether he wants to play for Denmark. If any player who has that possibility, like Matt has through his mum who’s Danish, I’d always support it.

“He’s got the ability to be in contention. But the player’s heart has got to be in it, the player needs to want to play for his country.

“The head coach is in touch with Matt so we’ll see. No disrespect to MK Dons but he’s at a higher level now, he has a higher profile playing in front of 60,000 fans at Celtic and in Europe.

“He will definitely develop in the coming seasons and he’s slotted in well so far.”

Meanwhile, in the seniors there's an emotional return to the international fold for midfielder Christian Eriksen.

The playmaker is returning to fitness with Brentford after having a pacemaker fitted following his shocking collapse at Euro 2020 with his country.