Celtic FC will surely avoid potential Preston North End transfer raid after viral incident | OneFootball

Milutin Osmajić surely won't be heading to Scotland following an incident at the end of Preston's 3-0 home defeat against Hull City.

The sending off of Milutin Osmajić at the end of Preston North End's 3-0 home defeat against Hull City was a sorry sight for fans of the Lancashire club - and it could affect the Montenegro international's future.

The Lilywhites failed their home test against Hull City at Deepdale on Tuesday night, and their evening was marred still further by an incident at the end of the match which resulted in the sending off of Osmajić to top off a thoroughly miserable evening for the home side.

After the match, the Preston manager Paul Heckingbottom described the player's lack of discipline as "totally unacceptable" - whilst it's the first red card the striker has picked up in his two-and-a-half years at the club, it will be the third ban he's served, which will take him past 20 matches suspended for in his whole time at PNE.

And this is a sending off which could have ramifications in the January transfer window, because Osmajić - a player with a growing charge list of extremely bad behaviour on the pitch - had been closely linked to a move north of the border to join Celtic.

But with this not being the first time that this player has been involved in a controversial incident, it would now be surprising if the Glasgow giants wanted to proceed with taking him to Parkhead.

Milutin Osmajić sending off will result in another ban in huge blow for Preston North End

Osmajić was sent off in stoppage-time at the end of Preston North End's 3-0 home defeat against Hull City on Tuesday night for headbutting Hull's John Lundstram.

It was a mystifying act of violence, all the more so because it took place right in front of the match referee, Stephen Martin. As if to compound the severity of the incident, Osmajić was seen to smile immediately after he was shown the red card.

Three goals for Hull City from Liam Millar, Akin Famewo and Oli McBurnie in sixteen minutes either side of half-time had already won the game for the Tigers, with the result lifting them to fourth place in the Championship table.

Osmajić's actions will cost him a minimum of a three-match ban, but this wouldn't be either the first nor the longest ban that he's received since joining the club from the Spanish side Cadiz in 2023.

It had been reported at the end of December that Celtic were interested in taking the Montenegrin striker north of the border, although it should be added that they sacked manager Wilfried Nancy just a week after this story circulated.

Now that Martin O'Neill is back in charge at the Glasgow outfit, that interest may have dissipated, and he's not likely going to tolerate someone with Osmajić's behaviour - especially after his latest incident.

Osmajić's latest incident surely ends any potential Celtic transfer swoop

The incident at the end of the Hull City match was certainly not the first time that Milutin Osmajić has been in trouble since he arrived at Preston North End in September 2023.

In September 2024, during a derby match against Blackburn Rovers, he picked up a yellow card following an incident involving Blackburn's Owen Beck, but following footage which showed a bite mark on the back of Beck's neck, the FA intervened and banned Osmajić for eight matches, as well as fining him £15,000.

But in February 2025, he found himself back in trouble after an incident during another Lancashire derby match, this time against Burnley. It was alleged that he had racially abused the Clarets midfielder Hannibal Mejbri, and despite the fact that Osmajić strongly denied the allegations, the FA got involved again.

It took until November for a decision to be reached, with an independent panel finding the charge to be proven. The result of this on this occasion was a nine-match ban and a fine of £21,000. Osmajić only returned to the Preston team for their New Year's Day clash against Sheffield Wednesday, and Tuesday night's match was only his fourth back in their team in the Championship since the end of his last ban.

This latest incident, coupled with the departure of former Celtic boss Wilfried Nancy, has surely killed off any lingering chances of the player making a move this month, and it'll be a shock if any club would take him on as a result.

Osmajić is clearly a talented player - he has 32 caps for Montenegro and has scored four times for them - but his repeated on-pitch issues clearly make him a liability that clubs will be reluctant to pay millions of pounds for.

Perhaps the biggest issue that Preston North End now face is what to do with the player next.

With a year and half still to run on his contract, it's a distraction that the Lilywhites manager Paul Heckingbotham could do without, as he tries to keep his team in the Championship play-off positions throughout the second half of the season.