'The money factor' – Fresh details emerge around Brighton's £25m summer transfer swoop
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The Seagulls had been tracking O’Riley for some time and finally completed a £25m deal last August as the Denmark international arrived on a five-year contract, with an option for a further year.
Celtic were clearly keen to maximise the fee for the player they brought for £1.5m from MK Dons in 2022 and in the end it came down to Brighton, or Serie A outfit Atalanta.
O’Riley had positive conversations with both clubs last summer but opted for Fabian Hurzeler’s Seagulls.
“At the end, it was probably between Brighton and Atalanta,” said O’Riley to the Official Albion Podcast. “I spoke with both. I did get a good feeling from Atalanta as well.
"Obviously there was the money factor in the end between the two clubs and that's probably the main reason stuff wasn't happening. But in terms of the culture here and the conversations I had on the phone, I trusted that [Brighton] would be a good fit for me. It has proven to be right.”
O’Riley suffered an ankle injury six minutes into his debut in the Carabao Cup against Crawley Town. He returned ahead of schedule last Saturday and netted the winner against Manchester City after coming on as a second half substitute.
The 23-year-old admitted his time out injured gave him a chance to assess Hurzeler’s team and allowed him to figure out his role. O’Riley also said he would not have signed for Brighton last summer if he didn’t think the playing style suited him.
“If the style of play here had not been right I would have said no,” he added. “That is a huge part of it. If a huge club came in for me but the style was a no go, I would have chose somewhere like here or Atalanta before that, because the style impacts everything.”