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Fullname: Jahmai Simpson-Pusey
aka: JSP, Jahmai S-P
Born: 4 November 2005
Birthplace: Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England
Signed: 5 August 2025 (on 1yr loan from Man City)
Left: 1 January 2026 (loan deal terminated early)
Position: Centre-half, defender
Debut: Celtic 4-0 Kilmarnock, SP, 9 Nov 2025
Squad No.: 4
Internationals: […]
International Caps: [TBC at end of career]
International Goals: [TBC at end of career]
Biog
Jahmai Simpson-Pusey arrived at Celtic after a pre-season in which the central defence was unconvincing. Carter-Vickers was out injured for periods, whilst Trusty & Scales were rotating often for who was meant to be the defensive partner to Carter-Vickers. Simpson-Pusey was young and had some good feedback, however, his parent club Man City had by their standards an underwhelming season by their expectations, and actually in the number of matches that Simpson-Pusey had played in, Man City had actually conceded heavily, and incredibly he had only played in a single winning match with their first team, 8-0 win v lowly neighbours Salford in the FA Cup! Not that it was his fault, but he had been tested, and Celtic was a new challenge for him.
To get it out of the way, yes, his name was a god-send for the insufferable wits on social media for puns & crude humour. We’ll leave it at that.
The big question was: “Where is he?”. He was missing for the first stretch of games (not even on the bench), next thing you know he’s not even in the initial Europa League squad. This was at a Celtic scrambling about for free agents having botched up the transfer window. The early reasoning given was that he was not yet match fit ready after being sidelined at Man City, but this was not wholly convincing to anyone. How much time did he need?
It was a surprise when he made the bench just twice for the home and away legs against Kairat Almaty in the Champions League qualifiers, but he never came on the field.
Then in Martin O’Neill’s interim period as Celtic manager after Brendan Rodgers had departed, to the absolute shock of everyone, Jahmai Simpson-Pusey was given his debut appearance, starting v Kilmarnock (4-0 win, Nov 2025). He played at right-back in place of the injured Alistair Johnstone and ahead of out-of-favour Ralston, giving a good account of himself after a very ropey start, and got very much involved in much of the game. With plaudits from the interim manager:
I took a bit of a risk, really, on the Manchester City lad [Simpson-Pusey]. I thought if he could play as a centre half, he could play out there. He got off to… not a brilliant start. I thought about taking him off after four minutes. Don’t tell him that! He did fine, and I think he got applauded off the pitch, which was nice. Not necessarily by me, but honestly, I was delighted.”
Martin O’Neill (Nov 2025)
That was though the end of the line for him. He never won a match appearance again, even though Celtic’s defence was desperate for any assistance especially under the brief floundering managerial reign of Wilfried Nancy which saw an embarrassing number of goals leaked.
Jahmai Simpson-Pusey’s spell at Celtic was ended early in January 2026, and he moved on loan to FC Koln in Germany.
We wished him the best.
Post-Celtic
[….]
Quotes
I took a bit of a risk, really, on the Manchester City lad [Simpson-Pusey]. I thought if he could play as a centre half, he could play out there. He got off to… not a brilliant start. I thought about taking him off after four minutes. Don’t tell him that! He did fine, and I think he got applauded off the pitch, which was nice. Not necessarily by me, but honestly, I was delighted.”
Martin O’Neill (Nov 2025)
Playing Career
| APPEARANCES (subs) |
LEAGUE | SCOTTISH CUP | LEAGUE CUP | EUROPE | TOTAL |
| 2025-26 | 1 | – | – | – | 1 |
| Goals | 0 | – | – | – | 0 |
Honours with Celtic
(Honours are marked below in which the player has played in at least one of the matches in the campaign.)
Scottish League
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Welcome to Celtic, Jahmai Simpson-Pusey
https://www.celticfc.com/news/2025/august/05/welcome-to-celtic–j/
First Team
By Celtic Football Club
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05 Aug 2025, 1:40 pm
Celtic Football Club is delighted to welcome Jahmai Simpson-Pusey on a season-long loan deal from Manchester City.
The 19-year old English central defender captained Man City’s under-18s side to victory in the FA Youth Cup final in 2024 before making his first appearance for City’s first-team against Celtic in the USA last summer.
Last season Simpson-Pusey was captain of the under-21s side at Manchester City as they clinched a fourth consecutive Premier League 2 title, whilst he became the first defender to be named as the PL2 Player of the Season.
After joining the champions of Scotland, Simpson-Pusey, who will wear the No. 4 jersey this season, spoke of his delight at joining up with the Celts.
“It’s great to be here.” He said. “It’s such a big club and I’m happy to come here, play in front of the fans and play for the team.
“This is a big opportunity. I want to come here and show my talent and my levels.
“It’ll be good for me to come and hopefully help the team to win the league again and do well in Europe.”
Celtic Manager Brendan Rodgers added: “I am really pleased we have been able to bring Jahmai to Celtic, and I believe he will be an important, quality addition to our squad.
“Jahmai is a quick, dominant centre half. He is a strong defender but can also move the ball forward very well as we progress through the pitch.
“I know Jahmai is excited about this move and bringing him to the club creates even more competition which will only benefit us.
“I am sure he will settle in well with the squad as we get ready for the matches we have coming up at home and abroad.”
Man City expert delivers honest verdict on whether Jahmai Simpson-Pusey ‘could thrive at Celtic’
Patrick Sinat
Patrick Sinat
Thu 31 July 2025 20:40, UK
Celtic are set to announce the signing of Jahmai Simpson-Pusey this week.
Brendan Rodgers is set to bolster his back-line after Celtic agreed to sign Simpson-Pusey on a year-long loan deal from Man City.
With just six first-team appearances to his name, Celtic fans will be sceptical at bringing in a player when there could be one in Dane Murray that could provide defensive cover to Rodgers’ squad next summer.
So to get the rundown on Jahmai Simpson-Pusey, 67 Hail Hail contacted Manchester City expert Srinivas Sadhanand for the latest on the Celtic-bound defender.
Man City expert tells Celtic Jahmai Simpson-Pusey
Simpson-Pusey has appeared in the Premier League and Champions League for Man City last season and it appears Celtic saw something they liked.
And looking at those performances, Sadhanand says that the Celtic manager is getting a player who can ‘break the lines at will’.
Sadhanand told 67 Hail Hail, “Simpson-Pusey joined City when he was eight and broke into the first team last season. Largely impressed at centre-back in the few games he played vs Brighton and Spurs (cameo), struggled vs Sporting against Gyokeres.
“Not the quickest, but composed, good on the ball and pretty vocal too. He breaks the lines at will, happy to play cross-field passes, quite press resistant as well.
“A weakness of his is probably his pace, haven’t seen too much of him myself since he’s played a few senior games but perhaps defending in wide areas may not suit JSP.”
Expert: Jahmai Simpson-Pusey ‘could thrive at Celtic’
Simpson-Pusey really struggled in Man City’s heavy 4-1 defeat to Sporting CP last season but Sadhanand has told the Celtic fans not to ‘judge him too harshly’ on that game.
Sadhanand continued, “Can do it of course but maybe not at the level of more naturally gifted athletes. Expectations wise, I personally doubt he ever becomes a starter at City, Khusanov and Reis who are very young too are better talents.
“JSP wasn’t really helped by Akanji, who seemed to be playing through injury. City couldn’t cope with Sporting on the break as well, so he had too much to do against a freight train like Gyokeres.
“Wouldn’t personally judge him too harshly on that one performance myself, he could thrive at Celtic. Seems to read the game well and is quite composed.”
A bit of a mixed appraisal but a very honest one on a raw young talent. Whether Simpson-Pusey will be able to cope with the mental demands of playing for Celtic remains to be seen.
But in terms of potential, it does appear that Rodgers is getting someone who has the talent to become a very good covering defender for Celtic next season.