Nigeria-eligible Irish defender opens up on why he joined Celtic from Watford

Nigeria-eligible Celtic defender, Mohammed Bosun Lawal, has explained why he chose to jump ship from the Watford academy to join the Scottish Champions, Soccernet.ng reports.

Lawal, who recently turned 21, possesses the ability to play as a central defender and as a midfielder, highlighting his versatility.

He joined Watford in 2019 and was named academy player of the year for the 2020/21 season, earning praise from Troy Deeney who in turn compared him to Everton’s Abdoulaye Doucouré. After drawing interest from Chelsea, Fulham, and Norwich City last summer, Lawal opted to join Scottish side, Celtic.

The Ireland-born defender was given the option to extend his stay with Watford, but instead opted to join Celtic. Speaking on the TRAINING121PODCAST, Lawal revealed why he opted to join Adam Sadler’s side.

“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,” the 6 ft 2 in defender said in quotes revealed by 67hailhail.

After joining Celtic, the young defender was immediately sent out on loan to Fleetwood Town where he scored six goals in 42 games for The Fishermen.

Lawal was born in Ireland and is of Nigerian descent. His brother, Ola, is also a professional footballer and currently plays for Falkirk Football Club.