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Fullname: Mohamed Bosun Lawal
aka: Bosun Lawal, Mohamed Lawal
Born: 30 May 2003
Birthplace: Dublin, Ireland
Signed: 16 July 2021 (from Waterford FC, free)
Left: 12 August 2024 (to Stoke City, est £3m)
Position: Central Defender
Debut: Celtic 5-0 Morton, Scottish Cup, 21 Jan 2023
Squad No.: 50
Internationals: Ireland
International Caps: [TBC at end of career]
International Goals: [TBC at end of career]
Biog
“The hope is to make my debut with the first-team, get my chance and really grab the moment and show people I’m capable of playing at a high level.”
Bosun Lawal (2021)
Irish born (with Nigerian heritage) Bosun Lawal was one of a growing number of young projects who headed to Celtic to aim to springboard on to be the next big name in the game. Supposedly choosing Celtic over Chelsea, this Ireland U21 player signed for three years from Watford expecting to play with the Celtic reserves.
He was rated by his countrymen, being awarded the Irish U19s player of the year at one point, albeit this was in an era when the flow of Irish talent had hit a low ebb. However, he also awarded Watford Academy’s Player of the Year, so showed he had talent and promise.
He had to be patient, playing in the new development/reserve team setup, going into Celtic’s B Team under Tommy McIntyre as they looked to make an impact in the Lowland League alongside a few other SP counterpart sides. The experimental setup had its critics but everyone still had to prove their worth there.
He finally made his debut when he was subbed on very late in what was a match already long won, a 5-0 win over lower tier Morton in the Scottish Cup (January 2023). It gave him only a few minutes of match time to prove himself or even get noticed, and so can be said to have been only a token appearance.
He was taken as part of the Celtic squad to Australia for the friendly matches in the ‘Sydney Cup’ tournament during the Qatar World Cup in 2022. His only appearance though was in a surprise 2-1 defeat to Sydney City FC, but it was just a friendly with many player changes to the side played and he was subbed on sometime into in the second half.
He likely thought his time was already up at Celtic around the time of his debut, especially with the arrival of Kobayashi from Japan, but the surprise early loan termination of Moritz Jenz give him a possible opportunity to step up for a first team place. Stephen Welsh was generally the preferred option but there were a number who even doubted Welsh.
Lawal was also identified as a midfielder, but at Celtic with an already bloated squad of midfielders he was unlikely to be able to break through in what was then a strong unit of midfield players domestically, so defence was his only option at Celtic.
In August 2023, Bosun Lawal signed a new contract with Celtic and then went out on loan to League One side Fleetwood Town who were under the management of ex-Celtic player Scott Brown. However, Scott Brown within the next few months was cut from the role, and Lawal was in a quandry again.
The irony for him was that whilst his star was on the wane, the career of fellow countryman Liam Scales (who had similarly been written off at Celtic) was back on the rise and ascending at Celtic. Whilst Scales got the lucky break he needed to make it at Celtic, Lawal struggled to get the same.
His loan spell at Fleetwood turned out to be the best thing that he could have earned. The response was positive, with reports that his form piqued the interest of various clubs down south (admittedly lower tier sides). When the loan spell today came to an end in April 2024, despite a failing to help the side avoid relegation to English League Two, he received a standing ovation as he was subbed off in his last match!
Originally mis-profiled as a centre-half, Lawal flourished as a box-to-box midfield role under new Fleetwood manager Charlie Adam. The change saw him become one of the most dominant midfielders in league one despite Fleetwood’s eventual relegation.
So the question was: What next for him at Celtic or a sell on?
Rodgers had made it clear he was willing to give Lawal a chance to prove himself on his return, this being at a time when Celtic were actively looking for prospective new defenders, so providing Lawal with a genuine opportunity at Celtic.
However, Lawal had a mixed set of performances on his return in the friendlies in the summer of 2024, playing in just two maches. He impressed the manager in the first of those, a 1-1 draw v second tier Ayr Utd (July 2024), which admittedly was a poor performance by the team as a whole (albeit mostly reserves):
“I really like Bosun. He is a player that has got a lot of physical attributes. But what he has as well is a lot of football ability. He’s been out on loan and you can see he has had that experience and has that power and quality to break through. We saw that this evening. I’m really pleased for him.”
Brendan Rodgers
In the US tour, Lawal only played in a single match, v DC United, and was subbed off for Francis Turley, who was the one to gather more attention on the tour. In the following match, it was Turley who played v EPL title holders Manchester City in the final tour match (4-1 win).
Overall, Lawal did not look sharp enough or have the first touch and awareness necessary that a very ambitious Brendan Rodgers was now demanding.
So sadly, the writing was on the wall for Bosun Lawal at Celtic, and he signed for Stoke City for a mouth-watering £3m, which was incredible for a player who had played so few minutes for Celtic’s first team. Anyhow, he was leaving on a good note, and we wished him all the best.
“Special special club will be missed. Thanks to everyone involved for making my time @CelticFC enjoyable”
Bosun lawal @BosunLawal3
Post-Celtic
[….]
Quotes
“The hope is to make my debut with the first-team, get my chance and really grab the moment and show people I’m capable of playing at a high level.”
Bosun Lawal (2021)
“There’s a number now that you’ll find over the course of the next 6 to 12 months they’ll start beginning to make an impact at first-team level. I really believe that. We’ve already had Bosun and Rocco with us but there’s guys like Matthew Anderson, Ben Summers.”
Ange Postecoglu (January 2023)
“Special special club will be missed. Thanks to everyone involved for making my time @CelticFC enjoyable”
Bosun lawal @BosunLawal3 (Aug 2024)
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES (subs) |
LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 2022-23 | – | (1) | – | – | (1) |
| Goals | – | 0 | – | – | 0 |
| Total | – | (1) | – | – | (1) |
| Goals | – | 0 | – | – | 0 |
Honours with Celtic
None with senior team
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Articles
Celtic midfielder reveals reason for Scotland switch ahead of big pre-season
By Lubo98 26 June, 2024 No Comments
Celtic v Greenock Morton – Bosun Lawal right heads the ball during the Scottish Cup fourth round match at Celtic Park, Saturday January 21, 2023.Photo Jane Barlow
Celtic midfielder Bosun Lawal has revealed the reason behind his move from Watford in 2021. After coming through the ranks with the Vicarage Rd side, the Irishman decided to reject their offer of a contract opting to join Celtic.
Speaking to the Training 121 podcast, Lawal revealed what sparked his decision to reject Watford in favour of Celtic.
“I got offered a pro (contract) at Watford, but I just wanted to try something.
“I wanted to be stretched because I think I was too comfortable at that stage and wanted to get stretched. When Celtic came, a couple of other clubs came in.
“As soon as I heard Celtic, being an Irish person, you know how big Celtic is so I thought ‘Yeah, I’m going to go to Celtic’ and actually challenge myself, move again, experiencing a different town, different culture so yeah that’s what I did, moved to Celtic.”
Lawal faces a fairly monumental summer in football as he returns to pre-season at Celtic Park. After impressing at Fleetwood Town in a dire season for The Cod Army, the Irishman returns to Paradise to force his way into Brendan Rodgers’ plans. Despite being deployed out as a central defender at Celtic, the former Watford youth prospect showed at Fleetwood that he was able to play in the middle of the park.
It will be interesting to see whether this season is the one for the 21-year-old to breakthrough at Celtic or whether he will go on another loan spell in England.