Paul Fennessy

NEIL FOX lists off the St Kevin’s Boys graduates who have gone to play for the Ireland senior team.

Killian Phillips, Evan Ferguson, Jack Byrne, Dara O’Shea, Jeff Hendrick, Robbie Brady, Ian Harte, Stephen Carr, Damien Duff, Alan Maybury and Liam Brady.

At the Aviva Stadium tonight, Bosun Lawal could join this prestigious list.

The uncapped 22-year-old was one of the more eye-catching names in Heimir Hallgrímsson’s 23-man squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers against Hungary and Armenia.

Should he feature from the outset or off the bench in either game, it will be a proud moment for everyone at the Dublin schoolboy club, including Fox, who watched him come through the ranks as a youngster.

A former teammate of fellow Ireland squad member Killian Phillips at Corduff, Lawal joined Kevin’s at U11s and spent the next couple of years there.

He was part of a strong Kevin’s side that regularly won trophies and dominated their age group. In 2016, the team memorably beat Barcelona U13s in the Academy Cup, with future Bohemians defender Leigh Kavanagh also part of the side.

Fox, an Executive Director at the Whitehall-based club, remembers a “very quiet” youngster who he describes as a “gentle giant”.

“As soon as he gets onto the pitch, he is a different animal, he’s like a beast on the pitch, but off it, he’s softly spoken, very mannerly, just a lovely kid,” he tells The 42.

“And he hasn’t changed one bit. I run into him all the time around the Ireland gigs.”

Lawal’s call-up has sparked debate over the position in which the player is best suited.

He has started all four Championship matches this season at centre-back for a Stoke City team who have begun well and are in third place in the Championship.

But the Potters have also played Lawal as a central midfielder in both their League Cup games.

In a press conference earlier this week, the player himself said he was not fussed where he plays.

But with Ireland stacked at centre-half, midfield might be Lawal’s best hope of getting into the team, and Fox believes it is his most natural position.

“He was more of a midfielder. That’s the sort of position he is. Personally, I would play him as a midfielder. He has that stride about him; he has the height.

“He can get from the midfield area up front, and he can do the holding position as well. So I would think he’s more of a midfielder than a defender, but I’ll leave that up to the experts.”

Fox also says Lawal would not be fazed if he were handed a surprise debut this evening.

“He could step into that game on Saturday, no problem. Obviously, he’d be up against Dominik Szoboszlai and a couple of big names for Hungary.

“But it wouldn’t be a problem from watching where he’s come from and how he plays, how he trains when he’s on the pitch.”

“He’s very chilled out when you speak to him.

“And I tell you, if he comes on against Hungary, it’s at home, you’ll see a different player. He will get stuck in, his family, friends, and all will be there. He will want to prove a point.” 

Fox compares Lawal to a Patrick Vieira-type of midfielder. 

“He was always taller than a lot of players around him, so he was able to shield the ball.”

Of course, the concern with players who rely on their physicality at underage level is that they will struggle to cope when their peers eventually catch up with them.

But it was never the case with Lawal.

“He’s just continued and moved on. He’s a lot taller, he’s a lot leaner. He’s well built. He’s looked after himself, so you can actually see he is a proper footballer. He’s putting the time and effort in. I’m sure he does a lot of everything because you can see he’s very physically fit.

“You could see year on year, he was standing out, he was getting better, he was getting taller, he was getting fitter.” 

Bosun Lawal has impressed for Stoke City this season. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Fox credits the work of Ger Browne and Greg Donohoe, the two coaches who primarily worked with Lawal at Kevin’s, for helping to develop the starlet into the player he’s become.

Both individuals have since retired from coaching due to the pressure of personal business commitments, but their legacy remains.

Another big influence on Lawal’s life has been religion.

As he told reporters during the week when discussing a difficult injury-ridden spell: “I had faith in God and he brought me back to where I needed to be.”

The faith of the Irish coaching staff also helped the player, with Hallgrímsson adding Lawal to the squad for last June’s friendly with Luxembourg, despite a season where he made just six appearances for Stoke, owing to a serious back injury.

“I think it helped me mentally. Things probably weren’t going as well as I wanted them to go, but I obviously got the call-up. It made me realise that I am still a good player. It was good that he showed faith in me to call me up after the tough season I had last year.”

Lawal comes from a sporty family. His brother Ola is on the books at Telford, while his other sibling, Abraham, is a Fifa-licensed agent.

Fox says Lawal is “very grounded” and unlikely to be affected by the hype or become complacent as his profile rises in the game.

“I don’t think he’s falling into that sort of [arrogant] bracket. He’s quiet on social media, and he’s quiet outside the game. He has a good circle of friends. So he’s not really in that kind of stratosphere as a footballer.

“Some guys take it to the next level. He just wants to play his game, play football, and do well for himself. That’s the sort of guy he is. He’s come from humble beginnings. So he knows how lucky he is, and he’s working hard.”

Lawal eventually joined Bohemians after they formed a partnership with Kevin’s.

He never made a first-team appearance for the Dalymount Park outfit but was asked to play in older age groups.

At 16, he moved across the water to join Watford.

“Obviously, with Brexit, players can’t go until after they’re 18. So he’s actually one of the fortunate ones who managed to get out before this [rule] came in.”

Lawal impressed in his short time at Watford. He was named their academy player of the year for the 2020-21 season, while club captain Troy Deeney compared him to Abdoulaye Doucouré.

Yet the youngster was attracting interest from elsewhere — he was on the radar of Chelsea and Norwich, but chose to join Celtic after turning down Watford’s offer of a contract extension.

Yet in three years on the books at Parkhead, Lawal did not make a single Scottish Premiership appearance.

The youngster did enjoy a successful loan spell at Fleetwood Town, playing 42 League One matches and scoring six goals, while primarily featuring in midfield.

Former Liverpool player Charlie Adam, the team’s manager at the time, said of Lawal: “How he dribbles with the ball, his touches and passes. There are not many midfielders like that in the Championship in England, let alone League One. So he has got a bright future.” 

It was the following summer that Lawal made what Fox describes as a “huge” decision to leave Celtic, despite having signed a contract with the Scottish giants until 2026.

“He didn’t really get much of a look-in at Celtic. Even when he was here in Dublin with Celtic, I don’t think he played much of the game. I don’t know if they didn’t rate him or whatever it was, but I think in years to come, Celtic will realise they made a bit of a boo-boo on this one.

“His thinking was, if I want to move to the next level and be there, I probably have to step back a little bit to go forward. And that’s what’s happened. Leaving Celtic to go to Stoke has definitely pushed him onto the next level of football. And it’s only going to get better for him.”

Ultimately, Fox believes Lawal can go even further in the game as he seeks his fulfill his potential.

“I think if he stays at Stoke and learns the trade, the Championship is a tough league. It’s a physical league. The Premier League is all about pace and moving the ball quickly, whereas the Championship is about getting stuck in and travelling the length and breadth.

“It really is a dog-eat-dog league. So it will definitely toughen him up, not that he needs it.

“I think if he’s able to shine in the championship, who knows what’s ahead of him. But he definitely has the attitude to do it.”