Ange dropped grave deadline day error as fresh twist emerges on late Celtic deal - opinion

A fresh twist has emerged on the deadline day departure of Celtic defender Osaze Urhoghide.

According to a report by Football Scotland, the 21-year-old’s temporary contract with Belgian side KV Oostende contains an option to buy clause, something which the Jupiler Pro League club’s president, Gauthier Ganaye, confirmed in comments made regarding the centre-back’s January switch.

Ganaye said: “We absolutely wanted to negotiate a purchase option because we firmly believe in his talent. We try to avoid renting without a purchase option in our philosophy and I am therefore happy with the deal we have obtained. Of course, comparisons will now be made with Jack Hendry, but Osaze is a lot younger than Jack and still has a lot of progress margin.

However, Football Scotland finish their report by suggesting that Ange Postecoglou is believed to be keen to keep Urhoghide at Parkhead for the long-term, something that would now appear to be problematic following the latest update on the defender’s move to Belgium.

While it is true that, since his £207k move to Glasgow from Sheffield Wednesday last summer, Urhoghide has failed to stake a claim as a regular within Postecoglou’s matchday squads, the 21-year-old nevertheless proved during his single appearance for the Bhoys that he is more than capable of doing a job in the Greek-Australian manager’s side.

Indeed, the £270k-rated centre-back – who is also comfortable operating on the right or left of a back four – could not have done much more on his Celtic debut to impress Postecoglou, making five tackles, three clearances, one interception and winning nine duels in the Hoops’ impressive 3-2 Europa League win against Real Betis.

These returns saw the £3.8k-per-week Englishman earn a