Stoke City chief explains why Lawal was signed from Celtic despite hitch in defender's medical

Stoke City’s sporting director, Jon Walters, has addressed the decision to sign versatile defender Bosun Lawal from Celtic, despite a hitch identified during his medical examination.

Bosun Lawal, a Republic of Ireland U21 international of Nigerian descent, joined Stoke City this summer after a standout season with Fleetwood Town.

During his loan spell in League One, Lawal scored six goals and provided two assists, which caught the attention of several clubs.

Despite strong competition and expectations from Celtic fans, Stoke City secured Lawal’s signature on a four-year deal for a fee of approximately £2 million.

In an interview with Stokesentinel, Walters elaborated on the club's decision to proceed with the transfer.

He explained that although a medical issue was discovered that had not been flagged by Celtic, Stoke City chose to move forward with the deal due to their long-term vision for the player and the club.

"I’ll highlight the signing of Bosun, who we were getting from Celtic,” Walters started.

"It was a tough deal to get done and we jumped ahead of a lot of big teams to get his signature, which we’re delighted about, but the medical highlighted something that we didn’t know about and Celtic didn’t know about.

"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.

"Our ambitions as a football club are to be right at the top. His ambitions as a player are the same too.

"You take that into account, it’s a long-term decision rather than be put off by getting just another body in."

Stoke City's campaign has had a mixed start, with a 1-0 victory over Coventry on the opening day, followed by a loss to Watford in their second league match of the 2024/2025 Championship season.

 Adeyemi Adewale

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