Celtic sign Nigeria-born defender from Sheffield Wednesday
Celtic have signed Nigerian-born Osaze Urhoghide from Sheffield Wednesday on a four-year deal.
The 20-year-old defender was out of contract and chose to join new manager Ange Postecoglou as the first signing of the Greek-Australian’s era after he took over in June.
Urhoghide was born in the Netherlands to Nigerian parents and moved to England aged five began his professional career with AFC Wimbledon in 2018, before he joined Sheffield Wednesday in 2019 and made 19 appearances over two seasons for the Championship side.
Postecoglou said of Urhoghide’s signing: “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.
Read Also: UEFA names German referee for England vs Ukraine Euro 2020 quarter-final
“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.”
Urhoghide joins former Sheffield Wednesday teammate Liam Shaw at Celtic. The midfielder signed a four-year contract after agreeing a pre-contract agreement in March.