MATT O’RILEY, it seems, is adept at making a good first impression. Since signing for Celtic in January from MK Dons, he has caught the eye with his composure in midfield, and has already won over the fans with a series of assured performances.

That aptitude for making a positive mark on a new environment has extended to the international arena, with O’Riley quickly bowling over his new manager at under-21 level since opting to turn out for Denmark – the country of his mother’s birth.

The Celtic midfielder was looking to make his debut for the Danes in last night’s match against Belgium at the Arena Herning, the same stadium where his club’s Champions League dreams came unstuck way back in July.

O’Riley began the match on the bench, but his manager Jesper Sorensen is very much of the view that this is the start of a journey for the 21-year-old, rather than the end of one.

He has been a huge admirer of O’Riley right from the first time he saw him play, and while he isn’t getting carried away, his hunch is that Denmark may have landed a talent that can go on and represent the country at full international level.

“The purpose with the under-21 side in Denmark is that all player should be able to make the step to the ‘A’ team, that’s what the overall purpose is for us,” Sorensen said.

“What we have seen from Matt right now is very good. Of course, I have players in my team and squad that are ahead of Matt, and players who could play with us and are already with the ‘A’ team, but we think he is promising.

“We cannot predict who is going to take the step to the next level, but right now he is in a very good he take that next step up from the under-21s.

“Of course, we play to get to the under-21 Euros, and we would like to participate in that tournament, but why not?”

O’Riley, Sorensen concedes, is far from the finished article. But it is how his attributes compensate for the weaknesses in his game that has impressed the Danish manager. A lack of true speed in a physical sense, for example, is offset by his speed of thought.

“It doesn’t look as though he is impressively fast, and yet still he is playing at a very high level with Celtic and he is able to make an impact on the games and on his squad,” he said.

“That tells me that what he does well – the way he sees the game, his skillset, his left foot is at a very, very high level – is so good that he would otherwise not be able to play at that very high level.”

Certainly, he believes that both Celtic and Denmark have both unearthed a diamond, and the difficulty for both in future may well be holding onto him, with O’Riley still having other options in terms of his international career too.

“For a young man, to be able to take steps as he has done in the last 15 months, I would not be the one to say where he can or cannot play,” Sorensen said.

“I think the world is open for him, and it is up to him to make the best of it, that’s the way I see it.

“In my daily work, I experience a lot of young, promising players. Some of them take it even further than I thought they would, and others are not where I thought they would be in regards to the steps I thought they could take with their talent.

“Matt would probably be one where he is right now at the perfect place for him, he is playing at a very good level in a very good club.

“I saw Celtic against FC Midtjylland at the start of the season, and right now it is a completely different team in my opinion, they are way better. Matt is playing regularly for Celtic at such a young age, and coming to the club and playing that early not as a star player.

“If Celtic buy a guy from Juventus then ok, he is going to play, but if they buy a young guy from MK Dons, you expect him to need a little time to get into the team, but that’s not the case here. He has made his mark immediately, and that is pretty impressive.

“To me, he definitely has strengths, and of course, there are sides to his game that are not that good, But it’s up to him to prove that he can take that next step and take it to the next level.

“He’s only 21, and I’m just looking forward to seeing him in games and in training sessions with us.”

Sorensen has also been taken aback by the maturity of O’Riley, an attribute that has been touched upon in the past too by Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou.

It is an asset he believes has already served him well in handling the step up he has recently made at club level, and one that will serve him well going forward.

“I’ve been pretty impressed with his personality and his maturity,” he said.

“He’s still a young lad, only 21, but the way he came into a big club like Celtic…I’ve seen him on the pitch and while he isn’t overly excited in his expression, he is clearly committed through his performances.

“His performances have been good, I can see that he has already been accepted well by his teammates pretty early on, and he just seems very composed and relaxed.

“At the same time he is very ambitious, and that is a very good thing. When a young man has to make a decision, he seems like a guy that is able to make that kind of call himself.

“The way he came into the squad at Celtic and the way I have seen him play caught me by surprise a little, the calmness and the maturity he has played with, the way he sees the game and the decision-making he plays with, it looks very good.

“He turned down an extension with Fulham just to go to MK Dons to play, he thought that was good for his development as a player, and I think that proves he is ambitious but also realistic.

“He thought ‘ok, I have to take one step down to take two or three steps up’, and that is actually what he has done.

“That’s a very good thing and that tells you a lot about a player.”