Not many youngsters get high praises on their debut for the first team of any professional side but that wasn’t the case for little known Osaze Urhoghide when he made his bow for Sheffield Wednesday against Brighton in the FA Cup.
The 19 year old joined the team in the summer after he was released by AFC Wimbledon but he showed no sign of a player who had to undergo trials in order to bag a deal when he made his debut with his team knocking Brighton and Hove Albion out of a the FA Cup with a 1-0 win.
His rise to the level where he is now wasn’t quite easy as he was dropped by the coaches of the Nigeria U20 and later U23 before AFC Wimbledon cut him loose in the summer.
Reflecting on that setback, the player reckoned he contemplated his future as a footballer after the disappointment at AFC Wimbledon as he was stranded when they refuse to renew his contract last summer.
“In the summer my contract ended with AFC Wimbledon, I was looking for a new club.
“It was tough, I didn’t know where I was going to end up and Sheffield Wednesday picked me up.”
After the clean sheet he beamed: “What a stage to make my debut. I’m so happy. The hard work I have put in, people don’t understand what I’ve been through.
“It’s just great, to get the win, clean sheet, it’s just a dream come true.
“When I came out, I was looking around, I was like, ‘wow, this is a proper match day’. I loved it,” adding he is grateful to manager Garry Monk for trusting the 19-year-old, who found out he was starting on the eve of the game played on the 5th of January.
Now he has emerged as the toast of many including English Premier League legends Ian Wright and Peter Crouch who were both full of praises on his performance in the win over Brighton, which has helped him cement a spot as a first team player. Few months after establishing himself as a regular for the U23.
If he maintains his form it won’t be long before he get noticed by coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Gernot Rohr who is presently combing Europe for young defenders eligible to represent Nigeria.
