It looks like Osaze Urhogide may be returning to Celtic this pre-season after all, with loan club Oostende finding the option-to-buy fee too high for a player they would ideally like to keep. No exact fee has been mentioned in this regard to the deal that took the former Sheffield Wednesday defender to the Belgian Jupiler Pro League however.
Reports have suggested it may be similar to the one that Celtic received for Jack Hendry when he went abroad, after his career at Parkhead stalled. Having looked at the success of Hendry, the Belgians may be trying to pull a fast one by making an even bigger profit margin this time around.
🇦🇪☀️ pic.twitter.com/mI4tQoJ97v
— Osaze Urhoghide (@Osazeus) May 26, 2022
Record Sport have reported that the player will return to Lennoxtown this summer with Ange Postecoglou perhaps casting his eye over the defender once more.
“Forgotten Celtic defender Osaze Urhoghide could be set to return to Parkhead for pre-season as Oostende play hardball over a permanent transfer.
“The centre-back struggled for game time during the first six months of the campaign, having made just one appearance since arriving from Sheffield Wednesday last summer.”
The article also quoted the Chief Executive of KVO speaking to a publication in Belgium, who reinforced this message:
“Chief executive Gauthier Ganaye has doubled down on that stance as he looks to strengthen the squad this summer, but left the door open for talks.
“He told Belgian outlet KW : “Urhoghide made a positive impression and is an added value for the team, but his price tag is too high for the time being.”
Perhaps it would be prudent to allow the player to feature in pre-season, now that our fate for next season’s European competition has been decided beforehand. Letting another Jack Hendry scenario unfold would be naive and foolish considering the return his initial loan club got when they flipped him to Club Brugge.
We should play hardball too.
Paul Gillespie
