Stephen Robinson has admitted he is hopeful Matt O'Riley will leave Celtic before their visit to Paisley.

The St Mirren boss knows the midfielder inside out having managed against him while down south before encountering him again at Celtic. O'Riley is widely expected to complete a record-breaking move to Brighton in the coming days.

And Robinson expects the Denmark internationalist to flourish in the Premier League should a transfer deal be finalised.

“O’Riley scored two against me at Morecambe," recalled Robinson. "So I think I helped send him on his way!

“You could tell at that stage of his career, what a fantastic footballer he was.

“He was an excellent player, again very good recruitment from the lower leagues from Celtic.

“He’s turned out to be a top, top player. There’s no doubt about that. The bigger clubs are circling around players of that talent so you obviously hear about them and are aware of them.

“Stopping them is a different thing. He’s done fantastic for Celtic. With his talent, he could go anywhere.

“Celtic fans won’t want him to leave. That’s not my business what happens there. But he’s a top class footballer and has been top class for Celtic.”

Celtic striker Kyogo Furuhashi has also been linked with a transfer exit from Celtic after shock links with Manchester City.

Selfishly, Robinson is hoping both key players leave Celtic before their visit to the SMiSA Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Asked whether the speculation over the pair changes his planning, he said: “It doesn’t - because they just bring another very, very good player in!

“But we hope these are done before Sunday, that would be fantastic news to be honest.

“Look, both of those players are top-class, fantastic footballers. But Celtic have a squad of depth and Brendan has recruited very well as always.

“They will have people to replace them or be in the process of replacing them.”