Needless to say, Callum Osmand is in buoyant mood before tonight’s Europa League tie against Celta Vigo.
And why wouldn’t he be?
Coming off the back of a brace on Sunday against Hearts, the young English front man was speaking yesterday about his admiration for former Celtic players who followed the same path as him from Fulham.
As we know, Osmand is another in a long line of Fulham youngsters who have plied their trade at Celtic.
And he thinks it’s a tall order to emulate some of those who went before him.
Players like Paddy Roberts, Moussa Dembele, and Matt O’Riley.
So far, he isn’t doing a bad job of creating his own history if you ask me.
He’s has a habit of scoring pretty important goals for Celtic in the limited amount of appearances he’s managed since joining in the summer of 2025
Osmand was completely frozen out by Brendan Rodgers up until he resigned this time a year ago.
He got no where near the first team until Martin O’Neill took the reins against Falkirk following Rodgers’ departure.
O’Neill obviously saw something in him that Rodgers didn’t.
It’s clear that O’Neill’s faith in him was not misplaced.
I think we really got to see his quality in the first half last Sunday.
Osmand tormented the Jambos’ defence for that entire first period, and as we know, bagged himself a brace.
So, are we in store for more of the same tonight?
Well, based on both of his European showings thus far for Celtic, against Midtjylland and Benfica, it’s clear he will cause defences in the Europa League problems
Speaking yesterday, as reported in the Record, Osmand hopes he can emulate former teammate Daizen Maeda on the left wing.
Here’s some of what he had to say:
Now you’ve said that, Daizen would be probably the main guy that I would – he messages me a lot to be fair. Every time I score he’ll message me or every time he scores or does something I’ll give him a message.
He’s a really nice guy so he would be one that I would like to mould it off, his running, his running power, and his runs in behind. That is something I admire so that would be someone who I would base it off.
It is a big hole to fill for him. He offered a lot to the club and a lot to that position and across the striker position he was brilliant. Like the last seven games, I think he scored in every one. He’s been amazing so it’s hard to replicate what he brought.
It’s clear that Osmand had a good relationship with Daizen Maeda before he left for the EPL.
And it’s also clear that Maeda took him under his wing when you consider they remain in contact.
Asked if he could match the energy and relentless running of Maeda, Osmand wasn’t so sure…
That’s a big ask, you know? I don’t know if you’ll see me yet running back the whole way. I give my all every game, so hopefully if I can get more minutes in the legs I can do something like that.
Well, if you ask me, I think he was pretty relentless last Sunday.
I’ve no doubt that if he’s given a start again against Celta Vigo tonight, we’ll see more of the same.
He was cool calm and collected in the way he slotted home his first goal against Hearts.
Osmand then followed that up with a poachers goal by being in the right place at the right time for his second
Tonight against Celta Vigo, he really has an opportunity to seal his place in this Celtic side.
You would be hopeful that Martin O’Neill will not deviate from the winning formula we all saw on Sunday against Hearts.
I don’t see why he wouldn’t.
As discussed last night on the Bhoycie Bus with Bhoycie, the only change I’d like to see is Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain starting in midfield.
On that basis, I’d be hopeful tonight’s starting line up will look like this:
Sinisalo, Tierney, Murray, Scales, Donovan, McGregor, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Baur, Osmand, Duran, Hassan
The only real question marks I would have would be over Murray, and Sinisalo on nights like this.
In our previous European encounters, this is where they’ve been found wanting.
However, coming off the back of Sunday’s performance, we have reason to be optimistic.
I’ll stick with my podcast predictions of a 2-1 scoreline.
On top of that, I predict that Osmand will bag one of the goals, and Duran the other.
Tonight is the night we get on track in the Europa League.
And I believe Callum Osmand will play a big part in that.
Roll on 8pm!
Key Takeaways
- Callum Osmand feels positive ahead of the Europa League match against Celta Vigo after scoring a brace against Hearts.
- He admires past Fulham players like Paddy Roberts and Moussa Dembele, but aims to create his own legacy at Celtic.
- Since joining Celtic in 2025, Osmand has scored important goals despite limited appearances, showing potential under Martin O’Neill.
- His performances in previous European matches indicate he could challenge defences in the Europa League.
- Osmand maintains a good relationship with former teammate Daizen Maeda, who has guided him during their time together.
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