Celtic youth coach lauds Lennoxtown teenager who has "taken giant leaps forward"; on Ange radar

By John McGinley

November 5, 2021

Coach Darren O’Dea has been talking up young Celtic goalkeeper Tobi Oluwayemi and the experience he’ll have gained from being involved with the first-team this week.

Oluwayemi was included in the travelling squad for the Celtic trip to Hungary to face Ferencvaros, training with the team and included in the match squad on the bench.

That means he’s not been able to train with Celtic B of course, who have their own match this weekend, but O’Dea is delighted to see the goalkeeper get an opportunity. The player is also set to travel to join up with the England U19s squad later this month.

Speaking to the official club website, O’Dea said: “We’re going to miss him for a couple of games but that’s a success. We thought he would be involved with the U19s team and then the added surprise of being involved with the first team is fantastic. It’s why we’re here, it’s why he’s here.

“Towards the back end of last season, I worked with him in the U18s and he really has taken giant leaps forward and that’s credit to the staff here, Colin Meldrum in particular, because he works with him every day and pushes him every day.”

Oluwayemi also spent time training with the first team after the Dubai debacle at the start of the year, so it’s not the first time he’s been exposed to this.

However, he is clearly very much on Ange Postecoglou’s radar and if he is indeed making grand improvements behind the scenes, he is one to watch moving forward.

His regular match action with Celtic B will be a big benefit to him. For a goalkeeper especially, I’d imagine that kind of experience is excellent at a young age.

Alongside other Celtic B youngsters such as Bosun Lawal, Owen Moffat and Rocco Vata, it seems that Oluwayemi has a big future ahead of him.

In other news, Celtic announce class sponsorship change.