Birmingham City’s pursuit of the Celtic utility man has gotten slightly more difficult.
Birmingham City will face competition from the Premier League and Championship to recruit Celtic star Bosun Lawal.
According to Football Insider, Bournemouth and Stoke City are both interested in signing Lawal. The 21-year-old is presently attempting to break into the Celtic first team, but he has plenty of suitors lined up if he believes his future lies away from Celtic Park, with Austrian club RB Salzburg possibly a possibility.
According to Football Insider, Celtic are open to a deal, whether on loan or permanent. Lawal just returned from a loan spell with Fleetwood Town, where he was recognized as one of the club’s top performers during an otherwise disappointing season.
The 21-year-old appeared 46 times in all competitions for Fleetwood last season, and he hopes that experience will help him break through at Celtic. To far, he’s made one senior appearance for the first team, a three-minute cameo against Morton in the Scottish Cup, and has been an unused replacement three times.
Earlier this month, Lawal’s manager, Brendan Rodgers, sent him a harsh message, stating that if he wanted to play for the Scottish Premiership champions, he needed to step up his game.
“They need to be at a much higher level,” said the former Liverpool manager. If you want to play for Celtic, you must be. Odin should do more. But there is definitely something there.
“And that’s why we persevere and stick with it, because he has talent, like Bosun Lawal, and that’s why we want to give them a chance, so I can see them in pre-season.
“But it just keeps running. You’ll have to run. Without the ball, you must sprint, be bright, and be in favorable positions to push the game before gaining possession and taking the ball.
“So, I believe the two boys you mentioned (Holm and Lawal) are talented. But I want more. Many more. Simply having talent is insufficient. You can play in teams, but not on our team.”
As previously stated, if Celtic wish to keep Lawal permanently while still allowing him to develop, Birmingham could be the ideal fit. Chris Davies worked with Brendan Rodgers at several teams and is a personal friend, so he may be trusted to develop him in a team that would compete at the top of League One.