As Tottenham Hotspur's performances on the pitch grow, so too does the importance of cementing the newfound stature with influential additions.
Ange Postecoglou has not been in London for long but he has already made his presence known, rekindling Tottenham's incentive and inspiration, nurturing talented players back to their best form and astutely identifying players capable of making a marked impact on the transfer front, then swiftly pouncing.
Are the Lilywhites back? Is Postecoglou to be the manager to end an interminable trophy drought, placing Spurs on a pedestal among Europe's best? Perhaps. But such questions are best left to speculation at this stage.
What matters is that the dark clouds that roiled over the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium are no more, with Spurs now fighting at the forefront of the Premier League pack, currently perched in second place after ten matches, with Postecoglou's men playing host to Chelsea on Monday night.
It is crucial that Tottenham's trip to the front of the pack does not turn out to be a sojourn, and for all of the excitement surrounding the feats of the first-team, there is perhaps a sense of trepidation regarding a detrimental injury to a James Maddison, a Heung-min Son or a Cristian Romero.
This is why Postecoglou is so eager to bolster his side in January, urging Daniel Levy and the club officials to not throw caution to the mind and rely on the existing fold, who need support.
As such, the London side would be wise to seriously consider acting on interest in Celtic star Matt O'Riley, who would be an excellent addition and the perfect foil for Maddison in the creative midfield role.
Tottenham transfer news – Matt O'Riley
Earlier this week, TEAMtalk revealed that Tottenham are among the suitors for O'Riley, who is attracting the attention of a plethora of Premier League sides after his captivating performances for the Hoops.
West Ham United, Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford are all listed as rival suitors, and while Spurs boast one of the finest playmakers in Europe in Maddison, it would be a prudent move to bolster with some exciting competition.
The Glasgow club will demand a ballpark figure of £30m for his departure from Celtic Park, having cemented his stature as one of the Scottish Premiership's most exciting talents, indeed carrying his performances over into the Champions League too.
The report describes Tottenham's monitoring of his situation and the fact that Postecoglou, Celtic's former boss, could entice the 22-year-old into making the trip down south to London.
Matt O'Riley's style of play
O'Riley has been a menace in midfield for Celtic over the past few seasons, having posted 14 goals and 21 assists from 87 outings since signing from MK Dons for a bargain £1.5m plus add-ons in 2022, since carrying over his level of performance into the current campaign, hence attracting such impressive attention.
Characteristic
Strength
Key passes
Very strong
Direct free-kicks
Very Strong
Taking set-pieces
Strong
Dribbling
Strong
Passing
Strong
Through balls
Strong
*Sourced as per WhoScored
As per Sofascore, the former Fulham youngster has been in stunning form this season, taking 2.8 shots and creating 2.7 key passes per game in the Scottish Premiership, completing 83% of his passes and making 7.2 ball recoveries per outing, heralded as a “magician” by talent scout Jacek Kulig.
He would offer a similar kind of threat to one that Spurs already offer in Maddison, but this would deepen the pool in what could prove to be a masterful signing from Postecoglou.
Last year, the dynamic gem proved his worth and then some with constancy in his supplementation in Scotland, scoring four times and serving 14 assists for Celtic.
This season, O'Riley has scored six goals and supplied five assists across all competitions – impressing after serving goals in Champions League ties against Lazio and Atletico Madrid – which actually means that he is outperforming Tottenham's star man Maddison this season.
How Matt O'Riley compares to James Maddison
Levy signed Maddison from relegated Leicester City for £40m in the summer, with the 26-year-old impressing despite the Foxes' demise last year, posting ten goals and nine assists from 28 starting appearances in the Premier League.
So far for this new side, Maddison has been utterly magnificent and has scored three goals and provided five assists from 11 outings, earning the Premier League Player of the Month award in August.
As per FBref, the £170k-per-week phenom ranks among the top 2% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for assists, the top 1% for shot-creating actions and the top 4% for progressive passes per 90, underscoring his stunning faculty for creative assistance.
Clearly, Maddison is performing at a higher level than O'Riley right now but it is interesting to see that the Celtic player is surpassing his direct contributions.
Maddison's game is not too dissimilar to O'Riley's however, with the Spurs star taking 2.8 shots and 3.2 key passes per game and completing 85% of his passes, as per Sofacore; because of this, Postecoglou could alternate between the two and maintain his squad's flow and efficacy in attacking movements while not draining either player's fitness levels.
Maddison has transformed the overall fluidity and attacking verve of this Tottenham team and will expect to serve as the focal point for years to come, but to assume that the England international can carry the creative burden alone as the club targets a return to European competition and starts to push for silverware would be ludicrous.
In O'Riley, Tottenham would sign a player to create the kind of depth that fuels such lofty ambitions and would signal a real statement of intent and an affirmation that this is no mere purple patch.
Whether Tottenham are willing to spend £30m on the future Denmark international at the season's midpoint, with reinforcements required across the park, is another question.
But Postecoglou knows the player and will be interested in initiating a reunion, and if he truly values his ability, the Australian will not allow the Celtic star to fall into enemy clutches.
