Callum Osmand’s immediate Celtic future looks set to lie away from Parkhead, with the young striker expected to head out on loan either before the end of this window or in January.
The 18-year-old, signed from Fulham earlier this summer, has yet to feature in a single matchday squad under Brendan Rodgers. Even when the Celtic boss rotated heavily for the League Cup clash with Falkirk, Osmand wasn’t involved, instead turning out once for the B Team in recent weeks.
That absence from first-team contention has fuelled expectations that the club will seek a loan to aid his development. SunSport journalist David Friel, who has close ties to Celtic, believes a move away from the Hoops, on loan, is on the cards.
Speaking on The Scottish Sun Sport podcast, Friel said: “I think he is clearly a player that Brendan Rodgers wanted to bring in, wanted to have a look at.
“And I’ve always felt from speaking to people that Callum Osmand would potentially go out on loan, either this window or in January.
“I think for a player coming from tier two down in England, obviously loads of potential, pretty young with no first team exposure at all. I think it’s a jump to ask him, or expect him to straight away, to go in and be a first team player at Celtic and by all accounts doing well, good attitude, all that sort of stuff.
“I know for a fact there was a lot of lower league managers and Premiership managers there watching the game and clearly looking at who Celtic have to potentially getting loans there.
“But it wouldn’t surprise me if Calum Osmand ended up at a Premiership team, maybe one of the ones in the bottom six, or who are likely going to be in the bottom six or a Championship team with real designs on promotion.”
Celtic still plan for Osmand to be part of their long-term future, but with Adam Idah, Johnny Kenny and new arrival Yamada ahead of him, regular minutes at the senior level will be difficult to come by this season.
Brendan Rodgers could yet bring in another striker before the window slams shut in under two weeks.
