Urhoghide, Osaze – The Celtic Wiki

Personal

Fullname: Osaze Urhoghide
aka: ‘O-saz Oorgoheidy’
Born: 4 July 2000
Birthplace: Netherlands
Signed:1 July 2021 (from Sheffield Wednesday, free)
On Loan: Jan-June 2022 to KV Oostende; July 2022-June 2023 to KV Oostende
Left: 25 July 2023 (to Amiens (France))
Position: Defender, Right-back, Centre-half
Debut: 2021-07-10: Celtic 2-1 Charlton Athletic, Friendly
Debut (competitive): 2021-12-09: Celtic 3-2 Real Betis, UEFA Cup
Squad No.: 26
Internationals: […]
International Caps: ? [complete at end of career]
International Goals: ? [complete at end of career]

Biog

Osaze Urhoghide arrived under freedom of contract as the first signing under new Celtic manager Ange Postecolgu. He was a surprise new transfer in 2021 having gone under the radar, but Celtic were short on fullbacks and needed more defensive cover. The young player was well rated and so was seen as a steal to get.

Osaze Urhoghide was born in the Netherlands to Nigerian parents and had moved to England aged five. So an interesting multinational background, and the first challenge many had to grapple with was on how to pronounce his name.

Ange Postecoglu was positive on his first signing:

“He’s a modern defender. He’s good athletically, he’s mobile, he’s quick and he wants to get on the ball. He can play a couple of different positions, and from our perspective, and the way we want to play our football, there are certain things I look for in players irrespective of age, and he’s got some really good attributes to be a top defender. The most important thing is, he’s got a real desire to reach the very top.”
Ange Postecoglu (Jul 2021)

Despite those positive words, he had to be patient and only finally won his place in the first team in what was a dead rubber match v Real Betis in the Europa League in December 2021. Celtic put out a mostly reserve side admittedly, but still triumphed 3-2. Making his debut along with others such as Luke Shaw, he had a fine debut to remember with The Scotsman noting:

“There were a few bonus performances from Ange Postecoglou’s perspective with right-back Osaze Urhoghide and midfielder Liam Shaw both acquitting themselves creditably as they made their first team debuts.”

Taking in that Real Betis had beaten Barcelona at the weekend just past, it showed the measure of the success despite the admittedly low value of this fixture. There was a moment of concern when he and fellow Celtic Nir Bitton had an accidental clash of heads that meant there was a nine minute stoppage period, but both were fine to continue. Urhoghide was overshadowed by others but still had much to be proud of.

Osaze Urhoghide was soon sent to KV Oostende (Netherlands) on loan for the rest of the season in January 2022 with a buyout clause. Jack Hendry had made a similar move in recent seasons and it had been a big success for him. However Urhoghide returned in the summer with the purchase option not taken up by the loanee club.

After playing in a testing pre-season game away in July 2022 v Rapid Vienna (3-3 draw), to many it was felt that he was still not convincing and too far behind in the queue for a defensive role despite the development time in Belgium.

Osaze Urhoghide rejoined KV Oostende on loan once again for the 2022/23 season.

The success of the raft of full backs now at Celtic effectively killed off all the opportunities for Osaze Urhoghide. He hardly got a sniff.

He left to Amiens (France) in July 2023 with the best wishes of all.

Post-Celtic

[….]

Quotes

“It’s great. He’s someone that the club’s been tracking for a while and when I came on board, I managed to have a meeting with him and he’s a good young man, he’s very ambitious.
“He’s just beginning his football career but he shows all the attributes on and off the field to want to become a top player, so it’s great to get him here. He can play a couple of positions at the back and, most importantly, he’s really keen to learn and develop and I think this will be a great environment for him.”
“He’s a modern defender. He’s good athletically, he’s mobile, he’s quick and he wants to get on the ball. He can play a couple of different positions, and from our perspective, and the way we want to play our football, there are certain things I look for in players irrespective of age, and he’s got some really good attributes to be a top defender.
“The most important thing is, he’s got a real desire to reach the very top. He’s excited about joining the club, which is important to me because that’s the first thing I want to hear from players, that they’re really keen to join us.”
Ange Postecoglu (Jul 2021)

[…]

Playing Career

APPEARANCES (subs)	LEAGUE	SCOTTISH CUP	LEAGUE CUP	EUROPE	TOTAL
2021-22	0	0	0	1	1
Goals	0	0	0	0	0

Honours with Celtic

none

Pictures

Player Pics

Twitter

@Osazeus

KDS

First thread

Articles

Osaze Urhoghide sees his future at Celtic after his conversations with Ange Postecoglou

Osaze Urhoghide sees his future at Celtic after his conversations with Ange Postecoglou

By Niall J 19 February, 2022 1 Comment
Diego Lainez holds off Osaze Urhoghide of Celtic during the UEFA Europa League group G match between Celtic FC and Real Betis at Celtic Park on December 09, 2021Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Osaze Urhoghide, currently on loan from Celtic in Belgium with KV Oostende, made his Pro League debut last weekend. And speaking to Football Scotland, the defender the Hoops signed from Sheffield Wednesday just last summer has been commenting on his intention to return to Celtic, despite the surprise inclusion of an option to buy clause placed in his loan contract with the Belgian club.

“The option is there, but at the moment I’ll be going back to Celtic and we’ll see what happens in the summer”, he said. “Obviously I want to do well for Celtic as well, but we’ll see what happens in the summer in terms of that clause, really. I’m just enjoying my football at the moment and focusing on improving. We’ll see what the future holds.”

Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images

Urhoghide admits it was Ange Postecoglou’s decision to get the player out on loan having only made one competitive start for Celtic in a Europa League dead rubber with Real Betis. However, both manager and player seem, for the time being at least, to think Osaze’s future lies with Celtic long term. And Urhoghide admits to also having options in the Scottish Premiership, with Dundee and in England’s League 1, before deciding upon KV Oostende as his destination.

“We had conversations. He wanted me to go out on loan. He still has a future with me there at Celtic. They obviously wanted me to get games and improve. He sees that I have potential as well, but felt it would be best to get games elsewhere to develop, really.

“Obviously it’s a different culture here, a different style of play. It’s a good league. There were some other options as well. Obviously there’s a range of teams in the league similar to the Scottish Premiership. I spoke to the manager before and it felt like a good fit.

“Dundee could have been the best fit, but after consideration, we decided to go to Belgium. I wanted to see what teams were available and then decide what was best for me moving forward. There were some League One clubs interested. We were looking down south as well. We know the English leagues are very competitive and good as well, so I was looking there. But going abroad offered a different kind of opportunity and experience.”

Urhoghide of course follows the same path to KV Oostende as former Celt Jack Hendry, who after impressing in the Pro League decided to take up the option to join Oostende on a permanent basis, before almost immediately signing for Club Brugge. Osaze is aware of the comparisons being made, however his only consideration at the time of the agreement was the good standard of football offered in Belgium and a fine opportunity to improve as a player with regular football.

Photo: Andrew Milligan

“To be honest, not really. I didn’t know Jack Hendry, I didn’t speak to him before. I wasn’t here when he was here. That wasn’t really a factor. I know naturally there’s going to be a lot of comparisons because we’re both centre-backs, we’re both fringe players and with the same clause.

“People think I’m going to take the same route as him, but I just thought it was a good opportunity to go to a good league where they want you.”

Osaze Urhoghide certainly seems a player with his head screwed on and makes an honest appraisal of his debut against Betis. Despite playing as a right back in a Celtic Park debut the player admits he was looking forward too, Osaze very much sees himself as a centre back, something he has relayed to the manager.

“I was waiting quite a long time and then the opportunity came. I was working really hard behind the scenes. It was good to get the win. I always wanted to make my debut at Celtic Park, really. Being on the bench, I saw other players making their debuts and obviously the crowd roaring their name.

Photo Bradley Collyer

“I’m hungry to get that opportunity as well. I knew I had to perform, I knew I had to show everyone what I could do really. Doing the analysis, I still felt there were areas where I could improve, such as my positioning for one of their chances and stuff, and just going forward in later stages of the game. But overall, I thought it was a good performance.

“My best position probably would be centre-back. Obviously, Ange knows that as well. He told me, ‘I see you as a centre-back. I know you can play right-back, and if needed, I’ll play you there as well’. But centre-back at the moment is my strongest position. I feel like I can also develop as a right-back and a centre-back to do both jobs as well as each other.

“At the moment, we’ve got a good squad. We’re flying at the moment and winning games. It’s about doing the best you can in training and trying to show the manager why you should play. Then you leave it up to the manager to make the decision.

(Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

“At the end of the day, everyone is fighting for a place in the team, but not everyone can play. That’s part of football. You’ve just got to soak it up and keep working hard once the opportunity comes.”

Osaze Urhoghide’s move to KV Oostende may well follow a similar path to Jack Hendry, however, despite the option to but being in place in this deal, the communication from the player indicates he sees his long-term future at Celtic, unlike Hendry.

If Urhoghide could get regular football in Belgium for the remainder of the season, and improve technically as a result, then it could well be the case that the defender returns to the Hoops, and Celtic see the benefit of the player’s development. After that impressive debut against Real Betis there certainly seemed a great deal of potential in Osaze Urhoghide, potential we hopefully get to see come to fruition at Celtic.

Celtic loanee Osaze Urhogide’s red card tackle which will see him banned

By Paul Gillespie 4 April, 2023 No Comments

Video: Celtic loanee Osaze Urhogide’s red card tackle which will see him banned

Celtic’s young loanee defender, Osaze Urhogide is facing being banned for two matches following another red card for a terrible challenge. The Dutchman has been in Belgium on-loan at KV Oostende, after Ange Postecoglou told him game time would be very limited for the big man moving forward after last season.

Osaze Urhoghide of Celtic is challenged by Cristian Tello of Betis during the UEFA Europa League group G match between Celtic FC and Real Betis at Celtic Park on December 09, 2021. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

The player did play against Real Betis during a Europa League group game at Celtic Park in December of 2021 and actually out on a good display at right-back that night. However, it was clear he was not technically proficient enough to star in an Ange Postecoglou team and was subsequently sent out on a temporary basis in the interim.

22-year-old Urhogide has been in the Belgian Jupiler Pro League side since last January and has already been shown a red card against RFC Seraing in January of this year. He has now followed that up with an awful tackle on former Watford player – and one-time Celtic target – Philip Zinkernagel.

Celtic v Preston North End – Pre Season Friendly – Celtic Park Celtic s Osaze Urhoghide and Preston North End s Ched Evans front battle for the ball during the pre-season friendly match. Photo Andrew Milligan

It is now being reported that the youngster could face further sanctions for his actions lately, as the Belgian Football Union are certain to hit him with a two-ban as well as a significant fine of €2,500. He’s still young so definitely has time on his side to learn and grow from these mistakes. It’s very much doubtful though that this will be back at Celtic Park, as no doubt the Hoops will look to sell him this close season if possible.

Missing in Vienna – Ralston-Juranovic riddle solved

By Editor 10 July, 2022 No Comments

Missing in Vienna – Ralston-Juranovic riddle solved

Ange Postecoglou has solved the Anthony Ralston and Josip Juranovic mystery from the so-called friendly match against Rapid Vienna yesterday afternoon which ended in a 3-3 draw.

The absence of both right backs raised a few eyebrows as for the second match in a row Osaze Urhoghide was given the full 90 minutes to make an impression on the Celtic manager and perhaps to earn a place in his plans for the new season.

With manager just about sending out an entirely new team in the second half against our old Austrian foes – only Urhoghide was used in both Celtic sides that played yesterday. So where were the Croatian and Scotland international right-backs Josip Juranovic and Anthony Ralston?

Ange was happy to clear up the mystery – less happy with some of the Celtic defending as this Celtic Star photo shows – after the highly competitive match in Vienna and he also made sure to add in some praise for Urhoghide. “Tony got a knock yesterday and just wasn’t 100 percent for today so we erred on the side of caution,” the Celtic manager said, as reported by Glasgow Times. “He should be fine for Wednesday.

“Josip is fine, he trained fully this morning, but he missed the first part of the week so we are trying to get all the guys into a programme where they do a bit of work before we expose them to game time.

“Credit to Osaze, he played 90 minutes on Wednesday and 90 minutes today. The one thing about him is he is a warrior. He works hard. We had him pencilled in for 90 minutes today, and he got through it.

Cameron Carter-Vickers in action against Rapid Vienna

“It was a great game. Sometimes with these friendly games, you worry whether the intensity might not be quite there. At times, it was like a real contest, which was brilliant.

“Credit to Rapid and our boys, they made it into a real, competitive game with the crowd out there as well. I thought it was a real worthwhile exercise.

“It’s a game we can take stuff out of. We can really analyse well, knowing that it was full of intensity and competition. We can give the guys positive feedback on the stuff we did well and the stuff we need to enforce to keep improving.”

Where did it go wrong for Shaw and Urhoghide at Celtic?

Where did it go wrong for Shaw and Urhoghide at Celtic?