Brighton continues spree with record-breaking deal for midfielder

Brighton set a new club-record deal for a midfielder after agreeing a deal with Celtic for midfielder, Matt O’Riley.

This deal continues the club’s summer spending spree, which has already seen Yankuba Minteh, Mats Wieffer and Georginio Rutter arrive in Brighton.

O’Riley previously joined the Scottish giants from MK Dons in 2022 for around $2 million. Despite the modest fee, the Denmark international has been a key figure at Celtic.

During his relatively short time at his soon-to-be former club, O’Riley racked up 27 goals and 35 assists in 124 total matches.

With the midfielder starring on the pitch, Celtic has been dominant in Scotland. In fact, the Dane has helped the club collect the last three Scottish Premiership titles, as well as three other cup trophies.

As a result of O’Riley’s rise, he has been the subject of a series of bids in recent months. Celtic previously rejected a $26 million offer from Atletico Madrid back in January. Italian club Atalanta then submitted several bids for the midfielder earlier this summer. The Scottish side, however, rejected all of the others. Atalanta was only willing to reach the $28 million mark.

O’Riley deal could break transfer record for Scottish club

Nevertheless, Brighton has now met Celtic’s asking price regarding the star. The Seagulls will pay the Scottish giants $33 million for O’Riley. The deal, however, also includes an extra $6.6 million in potential add-ons as well.

Assuming these add-ons are met, it will set a new record transfer fee received by any Scottish club. Celtic also currently has the record after they shipped Jota off to Saudi Arabian club Al Ittihad last summer. The winger cost the Middle Eastern team around $33 million.

The pending deal would push Brighton’s summer spending to about $265 million. Along with O’Riley, the Seagulls have made major moves to sign Georginio Rutter, Yankuba Minteh, Mats Wieffer, and Brajan Gruda. Rutter’s arrival to the South Coast cost the club over $50 million by itself. Brighton also secured deal for Ibrahim Osman, Malick Junior Yalcouyé, and Amario Cozier-Duberry as well.

The Seagulls have attempted to offset this massive spending by selling Deniz Undav and Pascal Gross. Nevertheless, these two moves have only had a relatively minor effect on the team’s net spend this summer.

Seagulls also set to sign highly-rated Turkish defender

The deal for O’Riley, however, will not be the final major move for Brighton this month. The club is also reportedly finalizing a deal with Fenerbahce for defender Ferdi Kadıoglu. After impressing for Turkey at Euro 2024, the left-back’s stock skyrocketed earlier this summer. As a result, Brighton is expected to spend another $33 million on the defender.

The summer splashes are seemingly working out for Brighton and new head coach Fabian Hürzeler. While still early stages of the 2024/25 season, the Seagulls have been one of the most impressive Premier League sides so far.

They began their current campaign by thumping Everton 3-0 on the opening weekend of the English top flight. Brighton then edged Manchester United 2-1 in the early match on Saturday. Hürzeler, however, will next have a tough test by traveling north to play Arsenal in London next weekend. Nevertheless, American-born coach should have a few extra key players at his disposal by this time.

Photo credits: IMAGO / PA Images : IMAGO / Sportimage