Matt O’Riley of Brighton & Hove Albion (right) could be a potential replacement for Abdoulaye Doucoure (left) at Everton
Matt O’Riley of Brighton & Hove Albion (right) could be a potential replacement for Abdoulaye Doucoure (left) at Everton
Everton have been linked with a move for Brighton & Hove Albion midfielder Matt O’Riley. But what would he potentially bring to the Blues?
An article by Lyall Thomas for Sky Sports states that Everton would be keen on O’Riley this summer – if Brighton sanction a move – but would expect to face competition from big European clubs.
The report adds that there is uncertainty around the Denmark international after he was an irregular part of Fabian Hurzeler’s team in his first season, in part due to an injury at the start of the campaign, while also playing out of position. The situation has alerted other clubs, but it is not clear whether the Seagulls would be willing to sell at this stage, as they see him as a player that would contribute significantly next season.
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O’Riley scored twice and assisted three times in the Premier League – starting six of the last eight games – providing a match-winning assist against champions Liverpool and a penalty against Tottenham Hotspur.
Born in the west London borough of Hounslow on November 21, 2000, O’Riley joined Fulham’s academy at the age of eight but after coming up through the ranks with the Cottagers, he quit the club in the summer of 2020 when his contract expired – rejecting a new three-year deal – after making five first-team appearances.
He spent the next six months as a free agent before being picked up by League One Milton Keynes Dons in January 2021. Making 54 appearances and scoring 10 goals for the Buckinghamshire outfit over the following year, O’Riley joined Celtic in January 2022 when the Glasgow giants met his £1.5million release clause.
He spent two-and-half seasons north of the border, collecting a hat-trick of Scottish Premiership titles, two Scottish Cups and a Scottish League Cup with the Bhoys and was named both their Players’ Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year in 2023/24, his final full campaign with the club.
After a total of 124 appearances and 27 goals for Celtic, O’Riley made a £25million switch to Brighton on August 26 last year with his £25million fee equalling the Scottish transfer record with Jota and Kieran Tierney also both departing Parkhead for the same amount to join Saudi side Al-Ittihad in 2023 and Arsenal in 2019 respectively.
Despite being capped by England at Under-16 and U18 levels, he switched his international allegiance to Denmark – having qualified for the Scandinavian nation through his Danish mother – and so far he has been capped twice at senior level.
In terms of playing style, O’Riley appears pretty unique as according to Comparisonator’s Similarity comparison tool, his closest match in Europe’s top five leagues is Internazionale’s Piotr Zielinski at 70%.
He’s followed by Pierrick Capelle of Angers and Matthias Svanberg of Wolfsburg (both 67%), then Adrien Tameze of Torino on 53% with Cheick Doucoure of Crystal Palace deemed to be his closest Premier League peer in terms of approach at just 50%.
It’s measuring O’Riley against another Doucoure (Abdoulaye) that will be of interest to Evertonians though after the 32-year-old announced on the eve of the 1-0 win at Newcastle United that he would be departing the Blues after five years after rejecting an offer of reduced terms to extend his stay.
The Mali international turned out on 166 occasions during his time at Goodison Park and scored 21 goals, including the match-winning strike at home to Bournemouth on the final day of the 2022/23 season to avoid what would have been the club’s first relegation in 72 years, despite posting the lowest equivalent points total in their history.
Given that O’Riley is an attack-minded central midfielder, if he was signed by David Moyes it would seemingly be as a replacement for Doucoure but their comparative statistics from the 2024/25 season on Comparisonator throw up some illuminating figures.
Although O’Riley clocked up the third highest average running distance among players in his position on 15.32km per 90 minutes, it’s Doucoure who topped the division on 16.36km with Brentford’s Mikkel Damsgaard between them in second place on 15.6km. Doucoure also led the way for the number of high speed run counts at 50.11 with O’Riley again third on 44 behind Damsgaard on 45.
Running distances during the 2024/25 season for Matt O'Riley of Brighton & Hove Albion compared to other Premier League players in his position
Running distances during the 2024/25 season for Matt O'Riley of Brighton & Hove Albion compared to other Premier League players in his position
Offensively, when it came to expected goals (xG), Cole Palmer of Chelsea was top on 0.42 with Doucoure seventh on 0.18 and O’Riley 14th on 0.03. This is explained by their respective shots on target with Doucoure ninth on 0.39 and O’Riley 13th on 0.14 in a section led by Palmer on 1.36.
Defensively, Doucoure’s picking up (of loose balls) was 1.72, a figure that placed him sixth behind leader Morgan Rogers of Aston Villa (3.07) while O’Riley was 14th on 1. When it came to ball recoveries, Doucoure was also ahead in seventh place with 3.83 behind Bruno Fernandes of Manchester United in top spot on 6.72 while O’Riley was 13th on 2.57, although with 1.43 interceptions, ninth placed O’Riley edged out 11th placed Doucoure on 1.39 in a section again led by Fernandes on 3.25.
When it came to retaining possession, only Fulham’s Emile Smith Rowe (5.04) had fewer ball losses per 90 minutes than O’Riley on 6, with Doucoure fourth on 7.83 behind Dominik Szoboszlai of Liverpool (7.23). However, curiously, given the Seagulls’ possession heavy approach, especially compared to Everton, Doucoure, whose on-the-ball work has often been highlighted as a supposed area of weakness, came in 11th for successful passes on 19.39 behind leader Fernandes on 42.83 with O’Riley down in 14th on 15.
A year ago, O’Riley’s Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers said of him: “He has been absolutely phenomenal really in his consistency. I think if we lacked anything as a team, it was probably that.
“The beauty about Matt is that he is a learner. He wants to learn, he wants to improve and if he keeps that hunger he will continually do that. “He is very humble, there is nothing flash about him. His peers recognise the work he puts in and the mentality that he has.”
However, these numbers seem to show just how challenging and potentially expensive, replacing a performer like Doucoure might actually be for Everton, despite many advocating for a supposedly more polished performer in that area of the pitch.
*Comparisonator is a football data comparison tool from 271 professional leagues around the world which compares players and clubs by utilising over 100 different parameters. Click here for more details.