Matt O'Riley is living his best life at Celtic. He’s also dreaming big.

It’s a vaulting ambition that he hopes will culminate in him turning out in the red of Denmark at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar this November.

You wouldn’t bet against him achieving that goal.

His four goals and two assists in 20 appearances for Celtic last season only told half the story.

Signed in January from MK Dons for £1.5million, the 21-year-old is fast becoming a fan favourite thanks to his technical excellence and calm persona – something his Russell Martin, his former boss in Buckinghamshire, is decidedly unsurprised about.

“He is some player,” Martin said at the time of O’Riley’s mooted move north. “Good technically, two-footed, brilliant finisher and just a really intelligent footballer. I’m convinced he’ll go on to play at the very top but a huge part of his journey now is playing at a club as big as Celtic.”

High praise indeed – but that’s nothing compared to how Champions League winner and former Celtic captain Paul Lambert rates him.

“He plays the simple passes brilliantly,” Lambert said. “I’m talking about the short passes that nobody wants to play – O’Riley makes them look easy.

“He’s terrific at playing one and two-touch football and possesses great vision. He could be a top player.”

O’Riley is already well on his way to fulfilling the destiny Martin and Lambert have predicted for him – and a large part of that is the fact he’s a confident boy.

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The midfielder backed himself for first-team football so much that he reportedly knocked back the chance to earn more money at clubs such as Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund because he simply didn’t want to sit in the stands. He wanted to play.

As a result he signed for Fulham for some 80 per cent less money than he could have got elsewhere at the time. Later, when first-team opportunities at Craven Cottage seemed to be unlikely, he bet on himself again by turning down a three-year contract in favour of finding senior game-time.

Just like when he is on the field of play, O’Riley sees the bigger picture. There’s a much bigger picture coming into view for him again now.

Helping Celtic to the Premiership and League Cup double last term was only the start. A stellar beginning to the new campaign – and the Champions League group stage – could well see him book a plane ticket bound for Qatar.

With his left-foot bias, technical quality and height (O’Riley stands 6ft 2in) the Dane has drawn obvious parallels with departed Celtic stalwart Tom Rogic.

With the Wizard of Oz calling an end to his success-laden nine-season spell in Paradise, much of the creative responsibilities will fall on O’Riley this coming season.

Celtic Way:

“He reminds me a bit of Tom,” ex-Celtic defender and five-times capped Denmark international Erik Sviatchenko said. “It’s still early days in his Celtic career but there is no reason he can’t fill that role this summer.

“Celtic are in a good position as they have lost such a big player but have a ready-made replacement coming into the team.

“O’Riley has the same stature as Rogic – he is tall and has good dribbling skills – and he can also dictate the tempo of matches. He has real vision, an eye for a pass. I do see a lot of Tom in him.”

The two also seem to share an unerring ability to conjure up moments that produce goals or see them weigh in on the scoresheet themselves. That being the case, O’Riley surely should be primed to play a vital role in the Celtic midfield this season.

He enjoyed his first taste of that with 45 minutes of action during Saturday’s 3-3 pre-season friendly draw with Rapid Vienna – and what a 45 minutes it was.

O’Riley opened the scoring with an exquisite left-foot angled curler after just nine minutes.

What was all the more remarkable about it was that he needed only two touches before the ball was in the net; one to control and the other to plant a sumptuous finish past the Rapid keeper.

What was it Lambert said about one and two-touch football? Evidence yet again, if any were needed, that O’Riley’s trajectory is very much on the rise.

After the goal he even steamrolled into a challenge as the ‘friendly’ affair got a bit testy – traits which you wouldn’t readily associate with a player of his undoubted technical talent.

The fans retain high hopes for what O’Riley can bring after getting a full pre-season under his belt. So, too, does Postecoglou.

Denmark manager Kasper Hjulmand, by all accounts, values his men playing at the highest level in Europe. He would, you feel, be as well starting to plot O’Riley’s course into the full international squad right now then. It’s surely only a matter of time before it happens.

The 21-year-old himself is well aware of the impact hitting the ground running with Celtic will have on that front.

“I’m not afraid to dream as big as I can,” he said. “I can aim as high as I possibly can and that is what I’ll do. With the manager and the culture of the club, it means you will always be striving to get better.”

It doesn’t come any bigger and better than the Champions League. That’s O’Riley’s dress rehearsal for the golden ticket to Qatar.

Club-wise, at least, the Celtic midfielder is living his best life alright. You get the feeling that full honours for his country await sooner rather than later.

When that eventuality happens, we can call it living the Life O’Riley.