There’s no doubt Brendan Rodgers would have been watching Scotland U21s with a keen eye on Friday night.
The Celtic manager, of course, will be keeping tabs on all 12 Hoops stars on international duty across March, but youngster Jude Bonnar likely caught his attention.
Bonnar has gone from strength to strength in 2025 having made his Celtic debut in the 5-1 thrashing of Aberdeen in February.
Ex-Celtic star Jonny Hayes has coached Bonnar and knows his qualities, while Rodgers has labelled the versatile midfielder “technically very good.”
He was called up to the Scotland U21 squad this month for the first time alongside fellow Celtic academy prospect Colby Donovan.
And he’s went on to make the most of it by coming off the bench in the friendly against the Republic of Ireland and scoring to make it 2-0 to Scotland.
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Celtic’s Jude Bonnar scores debut Scotland U21 goal
Bonnar’s strike is only going to increase his chances of seeing more first-team football at Celtic this season.
The ball fell kindly for him on the right side of the box and with plenty of time, he fired an effort into the opposite bottom corner.
Scotland U21 had opened the scoring at the Pinatar Arena early on as Kilmarnock striker Bobby Wales found the net. Bonnar then made the game safe with 15 minutes of normal time to play.
There was nothing really riding on this game given it was a friendly, but Bonnar and his family will be absolutely buzzing that he’s achieved another milestone this season.
What Rodgers has said about Jude Bonnar
Speaking before Celtic thumped Aberdeen at Parkhead last month, Rodgers was asked about the emergence of Bonnar.
The Northern Irishman said: “He’s done very well with the second team (Celtic B). But not only that, he’s working very, very hard, which I notice. I see him in the gym a lot, doing his extra to get himself physically ready.
“He’s technically very good in the game. Like I said, he’s improving his physicality. He’s improving the competitive side to his game. Tactically, he understands how we work and for him to get that feeling of coming in.
“For me, what he also showed was personality, because I like my players – especially young players – to have the personality to come into the arena and play for Celtic.
“He showed all of that, so it should hopefully give him that bit of motivation now to push on.”
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