CeltsAreHere understands Lucas Clearie trained with the Celtic first team at Celtic Park ahead of Thursday night’s Europa League clash with Benfica, before the squad travel to Portugal later today.

Clearie was not involved for Celtic B in their 3-2 win over Cowdenbeath yesterday, and he was not named in the squad for that match. His absence came as he trained with the first team ahead of the Benfica game.

All the upcoming Celtic fixtures are on our fixtures page.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 17 year old Lucas Clearie is the top goalscorer halfway through the KDM Trophy league phase.

He has 5 goals & an assist for Celtic B in the competition, taking his total up to 13 goals and 3 assists for the overall season so far.

A good example of B team development 👏 https://t.co/OqtM4LgjQe

— The 30 ⚽️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 (@The_Thirty_) September 9, 2026

The teenager is also eligible to feature in the Europa League, having been listed by UEFA as a List B player in Celtic’s squad.

Clearie has been one of the standout players in Celtic B this season.

His numbers help explain why. The forward has scored 15 goals in 13 appearances for Celtic B across the Lowland League and KDM Evolution Trophy this season, with 10 goals in 10 Lowland League matches and five more in three Trophy games.

He also caught the eye in a behind-closed-doors match against Falkirk at Lennoxtown earlier this month, scoring twice in a 2-0 win.

That game was arranged mainly to give Jota minutes on his return from injury, but Clearie made the most of his chance against senior opposition.

His form has earned attention, and training with the first team is another step in his development.

O’Neill has senior attacking options available, with Kasper Høgh, Benjamin Nygren, Camilo Durán, Sebastian Tounekti and Haissem Hassan all included in Celtic’s Europa League squad. But Clearie being around the group gives the manager another forward to look at during a busy spell.

Celtic travel to Portugal needing a response after losing their opening Europa League league phase match against Ferencvaros.

Benfica started their campaign with a win away to AC Milan and will be expected to make life difficult at the Estádio da Luz.

For Clearie, even being involved in preparations for a game of this level will be useful. The jump from B-team football to a European away night is huge, and Celtic will be careful with how they manage him.

But his involvement in first-team training shows his progress is being noticed.

Whether he makes the squad for Benfica or not, Clearie is beginning to move closer to the senior picture at a time when Celtic supporters are watching closely for the next academy player capable of making the step up.