Celtic clinched their place against St Mirren in the final of the League Cup on Sunday with a 3-1 win over their Glasgow rivals at Hampden Park.
The Hoops needed extra time to get past their ten-man opponents, though, with goals from Callum McGregor and Callum Osmand in the last 30 minutes sealing the win.
Interim head coach Martin O’Neill has won his first two matches in charge of the club, after beating Falkirk 4-0 in his first Scottish Premiership game last week.
Football Insider now reports that the interim boss has a chance to land the role until the end of the season if he picks up positive results in the next two games.
The outlet claims that O’Neill is closer to landing the job on a ‘permanent’ deal after beating Rangers 3-1, which would provide the club with more time to find a longer-term successor to Brendan Rodgers.
Whether Sunday was his last game or if he will be at the club for the rest of the season, the experienced manager appears to have unearthed a diamond for the next head coach in Callum Osmand.
Why Callum Osmand is an exciting prospect for Celtic
The Welsh youngster was signed from Premier League side Fulham in the summer after his contract with the English side expired at the end of the 2024/25 campaign.
In the club’s official announcement post, Rodgers said: “He’s a quick and powerful striker and I’m really looking forward to working with him.”
Unfortunately, though, despite those comments from the Northern Irish boss, Osmand did not play a single minute of football under Rodgers before his resignation last week.
24/25
22
11
4
23/24
29
21
6
22/23
21
11
2
21/22
1
0
0
Total
73
43
12
The 19-year-old centre-forward arrived at Parkhead as an incredibly exciting prospect because of his return of 43 goals in 73 matches for Fulham at U18 and U21 level.
His complete lack of minutes under Rodgers, though, meant that supporters were unable to see his quality on the pitch, which they have now seen under O’Neill in the last two games.
Osmand scored his first goal for the club in the 3-1 win over Rangers on Sunday, sliding in to convert Kieran Tierney’s cross, and came off the bench for his Scottish Premiership debut against Falkirk in O’Neill’s first game in charge.
To come on in such a big game, at a crucial time, and make a vital impact speaks to the youngster’s maturity and his quality, which is why he looks like such an exciting prospect for Celtic at the age of 19.
Osmand is not the only teenage attacker at the club who could be unearthed as a potential future superstar by O’Neill at Parkhead, though.
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Football FanCast’s In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.
The interim manager has shown that he is willing to bring young players into the first-team squad, as evidenced by Osmand’s emergence, which is why he should also look to unleash Rhys Dargie from the B team.
Why Rhys Dargie is as exciting as Callum Osmand
O’Neill could unearth another future superstar for the Scottish giants, as he has with Osmand, by bringing the versatile Scottish attacker into the senior side in the coming weeks, should he remain in post.
The 18-year-old predominantly plays on the right wing for the B team, per Transfermarkt, but he can also play on the left, through the middle as a striker, and in central midfield.
Dargie has produced four goals and three assists in ten appearances in all competitions so far this season, per Transfermarkt, whilst Benjamin Nygren (six) is the only first-team player with more than four goals.
The teenage talent is currently out with an injury, with no return date out in the public domain, but his form before his spell on the sidelines suggests that he is a player who should be on O’Neill’s radar when fit and available.
Dargie racked up nine goals in 11 matches in the Lowland League in the 2024/25 campaign, per Transfermarkt, whilst he also scored against Rangers in the Glasgow Cup final at the end of the season.
These statistics suggest that the young winger has the potential to provide goals and assists at first-team level if he can handle the jump up in quality, as Osmand has in recent days.
There is no guarantee that academy form will translate to senior level, of course, but Dargie’s performances at youth level suggest that he is as exciting a talent as Osmand is.
Appearances
75
26
Minutes played
5,324
1,601
Goals
46
13
Minutes per goal
114
123
Assists
13
3
Minutes per assist
410
533
As you can see in the table above, the 18-year-old forward has scored and assisted goals at a fairly similar, albeit slightly worse, rate at youth level, which is impressive when you consider that Osmand is a striker and the Scottish forward mainly plays on the wing.
This is why O’Neill should look at Dargie as a potential option on the right flank in the coming weeks, if he is fit enough to come into contention, as he could emerge as a surprise star for the club.
Osmand’s big moment against Rangers on Sunday shows that a change in management can unearth talent that was not being utilised by the previous coaching group, which could also be the case for Dargie if he is given an opportunity to shine.
O’Neill, therefore, could provide the next permanent Celtic manager with two incredibly exciting talents who could be future superstars for the Hoops by offering Osmand and Dargie first-team experience.
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