The Man City stopper has yet to feature for Brendan Rodgers' side but did get a rare run out for the Hoops B team
06:00, 13 Oct 2025
Jahmai Simpson-Pusey has yet to feature for Celtic
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Jahmai Simpson-Pusey has yet to feature for Celtic(Image: SNS Group)
Celtic fans are still picking their jaws off the floor.
Not at the never-ending circus across the road in Govan.
Not even the latest bout of infighting to engulf Parkhead.
But because forgotten Bhoy Jahmai Simpson-Pusey was finally spotted in the Hoops.
The on-loan Manchester City starlet has barely been seen since the day he arrived in Glasgow.
Tipped by Pep Guardiola as the future of City’s defence, JSP hasn’t even come close to making his senior debut for Celtic.
It’s a bizarre situation that’s left supporters scratching their heads - even if Brendan Rodgers insists his time will come.
The England youth international's name on the team sheet against East Fife sparked a buzz on social media late on Friday.
But it was a night to forget as Celts' kids shipped FIVE in a heavy KDM Evolution Trophy defeat.
For a rising star crowned Premier League 2 Player of the Year just a few months ago, Simpson-Pusey must feel like he's in the wrong movie.
As someone who knows all about the challenges of adapting to life at Celtic, former defender Kelvin Wilson certainly sympathises.
Wilson, like many, has yet to see Simpson-Pusey strut his stuff in the flesh.
But the title-winning stopper - imperious the night Celts stunned Barcelona in 2012 - offered some words of advice.
In an interview with Record Sport, via Gambling.com, he said: "He's a young lad coming in to try and prove his point.
"He's on loan from Man City so he's obviously a decent player, without a doubt.
"It doesn't matter who you are. Until you get in the door and see the magnitude of the club, it's how you hit the ground running.
Jahmai Simpson-Pusey made his Champions League debut for Man City last season
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Jahmai Simpson-Pusey made his Champions League debut for Man City last season(Image: Getty Images)
"It took me a season to settle in at Celtic to get used to everything and all the off-the-field stuff. It's a fishbowl up there.
"You can play a game and win 1-0 and you read the papers the next morning and you're getting hammered. You think, 'Wait a minute, we've just won?'
"So that will be something he has to get used to. And performances, you can't be a 6/10 every week. You need to be eight or nine playing for Celtic and you have to dominate.
"Being a centre-half and a goalkeeper, what I noticed at Celtic, you have a lot of the ball. There might be three or four occasions where they counter-attack or get a bit of possession.
"It's how you're switched on and you react to that. I think that's what's damaging a few times for defenders that I've seen at Celtic.
"The concentration levels, that's a big thing. Technically, they are good enough, that's why they are there. But I think it's the other side.
"Not switching off because you do get a lot of the ball and it's just about not getting bored as a defender, because you get a lot of the ball in the attacking area.
"So it's being switched on. That would be my advice to him. Just concentrate on that side of his game."
Whether Simpson-Pusey ever gets the chance to play competitively for Celtic remains to be seen.
The 19-year-old - who also had summer options in Germany - might well be tempted to rip up his season-long deal in January after slipping to fifth in the defensive pecking order.
And Wilson admitted: "It's strange how he's not played yet. It's a very strange one. Yeah, you put out your best team, but I can assure you there's probably been opportunities in the cup or whatever to put him on.
"Results as well, when you are 3-0 up, can you put him on while you're dominating?
"So it's a strange one. Whether he's not match fit, had little niggles, I don't know.
"But it's definitely a strange one to bring a player on loan and not feature at all."
Rodgers isn't exactly short of options at the back.
Kelvin Wilson in action for Celtic
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Kelvin Wilson in action for Celtic(Image: SNS Group 0141 221 3602)
Cameron Carter-Vickers and Liam Scales have nailed down the first-choice pairing, with £6million signing Auston Trusty and academy prospect Dane Murray also waiting in the wings.
Wilson - who spent two years at Celtic - knows how important it is to have competition for places across a gruelling 60-game campaign.
He added: "They need to have other options to be pushing Carter-Vickers. When I say pushing him, he's probably their main centre-half. You get that at a club where he's going to play.
"It's more getting someone who can play at the side of him and is consistent like him. Liam Scales has been a regular there, they've performed a good partnership and that's important for a centre-half to play with the same partner. It does help.
"With bringing in a centre-half, you do want players who can push them if they are playing and more importantly, replace them if they get suspended or out of form.
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"But obviously with the young lad from Man City not even playing yet, it is a bit of a worry from what Brendan's seeing in training that he doesn't like.
"You definitely need four or five good centre-half options at a club the size of Celtic.
"The amount of games as well and then injuries as well, you need at least four centre-halves."