Following on from the rather worrying article on The Celtic Star last night about B Team football, there’s another story that worth mentioning as we consider how the Celtic B is struggling to deliver players that can break into the Celtic first team while ‘developing’ in the Lowland League.
This is a strange one right enough. Celtic released youngster Justin Osagie last year and now the 20 year-old has signed for English Premier League side Chelsea.
The defender joined Celtic’s youth setup from West Ham’s academy in 2022, viewed as a promising addition to the club’s B team. However, he was unable to break into the senior squad and departed the club last year after being let go.
During his spell at the club under the guidance of Stephen McManus and Darren O’Dea, the Irish defender made 20 appearances for Celtic B in the Lowland League and featured once in the UEFA Youth League.
Osagie later joined Peterborough United following his departure from Celtic but struggled to establish himself, with his loan spell at Peterborough Sports in the National League North disrupted by injury.
After parting ways with Peterborough United during the summer, the young defender has landed an unexpected deal with EPL giants Chelsea.
Osagie had been training with Chelsea’s under-21 squad and appeared as a trialist on the bench for an EFL Trophy game. He has since been officially announced as a new addition to the club’s academy.
Taking to their website to announce the signing, Chelsea FC confirmed the signing on their official website:
“Centre-back Justin Osagie has joined Chelsea Under-21s from Peterborough United.”
“His first involvement with Calum McFarlane’s team came when he was named on the bench for the EFL Trophy match against Northampton Town.”
Chelsea have just completed the signings of Jashayde Greenwood (16), Riley Ebho (16), and Justin Osagie (20).🤯🔵
Ebho and Greenwood are both current England Youth internationals who will join up with the U18s, and Ogasie is a former Ireland U19 international who will be playing… pic.twitter.com/PCuDgtXELO
— The Talent Hunter 🎯 (@thetalenthunt3r) October 13, 2025
The deal for Osagie represents a remarkable change in fortunes. Only a year after leaving Celtic without a first-team appearance, he is now part of one of the biggest clubs in England, developing among elite young players and learning from some of England’s leading academy coaches whilst probably earning a decent living too.
For Celtic, it might be another one that got away. Good luck to Osagie who seems to be on the right career path despite taking a few rejections along the way. You can sure that he’s certainly not missing Lowland League football.
Conor Spence
