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.”
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.
“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.
“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.
“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.
Niall J
I see him most definitely as a Celtic player and I fervently hope that he returns to Celtic at the end of his loan period. He will have extended his experience and should be ready for some 1st team action hopefully when he returns. For me, this is the best outcome. Urhoghide is a very good player with a lot of promise and I hope we do not make a mistake here.