The Unexpected Hitch Stoke Ignored in Bosun Lawal Deal

As much as Brendan Rodgers wants to strengthen his Celtic squad this summer, it is pivotal that he trims it and gets rid of several fringe players to make way for new arrivals.

Sead Haksabanovic, Benji Siegrist, and Oh Hyeon-gyu have all made permanent Parkhead departures this summer, alongside Bosun Lawal.

There were high hopes for the Irishman when he returned from a productive loan spell at Fleetwood earlier in the summer. Many thought he could make an impression on the first-team but it wasn’t long before Rodgers sanctioned a permanent exit.

Stoke City came calling and paid £2m, plus another potential £1m in add-ons, for the 21-year-old, who played only two senior Games for the Hoops.

Celtic making a tidy profit on Lawal has to be commended but when Stoke went to sign him, there was a hitch in his medical.

The club’s Sporting Director, Jon Walters, lifted the lid on the transfer.

“The medical highlighted something that we didn’t know about and Celtic didn’t know about”, he said (Stoke Sentinel via The Scottish Sun).

“Other teams might pull away from a deal because they want a player to be immediately available and we were looking a bit short of numbers in certain positions, but this was a long-term signing for the club of someone who matches our ambitions.

“Why would we be put off by a short-term issue which won’t take long to resolve? It doesn’t change him as a player.”

It will be intriguing to see how Lawal progresses at the bet365 Stadium this term.

Rodgers deemed him not good enough to play consistently at Celtic, so seeing how he copes in the English Championship should be interesting.