Tom Boyd is very excited about Bosun Lawal’s future at Celtic

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Tom Boyd likes what he sees from Celtic B Team talent Bosun Lawal, and thinks he has the qualities to make the grade in the Green and White.

Lawal, coming back to the B Team following an injury, has been routinely excellent for Tommy McIntyre’s side. Last year’s Watford Academy Player of the Year, he was snapped up by Celtic despite reported interest from Chelsea – a club Tom Boyd used to play for.

Intelligent, with excellent technique and anticipation, it’s not wild to say there’s a bit of van Dijk in his game. Confident on the ball, decent in the pass and with the ability to beat players, he’s every bit the modern centre-back.

Speaking during Celtic B’s game against Rangers in the Glasgow Cup, Tom Boyd said of Lawal [Celtic TV]: “I could do that; be comfortable on the ball, break forward, use your pace and speed.

“He’s certainly got a lot of those attributes. Sometimes that can be the thing that unlocks the door with [Celtic]. Certainly the first team, the way we press, and the way we get forward and play in advanced areas. It’s often the centre-backs that are playmakers.

“He looks as though he’s very accomplished, very comfortable. [He can] just cause confusion in organised defences that we go up against. He’s certainly one that’s stood up and looking very comfortable in possession, a physical presence as well.”

Celtic hero Tom Boyd rightly praises Bosun Lawal; he’s certainly one for the future

Even if you just took today’s game in isolation, you could see Bosun Lawal lining up for Celtic at some stage. Those familiar with the B Team this season have been constantly impressed by his maturity and utter comfort on the ball.

That’s something both he and Dane Murray have in abundance. Little wonder, then, that both are being touted for big futures with Celtic. In terms of the system we use now, Tom Boyd is right; they’re perfectly suited to the role of the modern, ball-playing centre-back.

Lawal would go on to show his playmaking credentials after Boyd made these comments at half-time. His pass helped to create an equaliser, duly dispatched by Mackenzie Carse. And though there’s plenty of competition in the centre-back department in Celtic’s first-team, Lawal’s time will come.

Again; we beat some top Premier League teams to his signature. Chelsea’s Academy set-up is world-famous, and has produced some superb defensive talents, like Andreas Christensen, Reece James and Fikayo Tomori. That Celtic got the lead on Lawal’s signature says a lot in and of itself.

Tom Boyd, in fairness, knows what it takes to be a Celtic defender. Versatile, comfortable in possession and a smart anticipator of danger, Boyd’s trophy haul as captain says a great deal. A lead-by-example type, the former Motherwell and Chelsea man is still a hero to us fans of a certain vintage.

For Lawal, it’s a meaningful compliment. And it’s bang on. There’s excitement about Bosun Lawal, and it’s absolutely justified.

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