“Finally”; Osaze Urhoghide’s message to supporters after promising Celtic debut

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Osaze Urhoghide has sent a message to supporters after a very promising Celtic debut against Real Betis.

Urhoghide, who can play at right or centre-back, was more than solid in his 90 minutes for Celtic last night. In an incredibly young Hoops side, Urhoghide showed incredible determination to win the ball.

At the same time, he was unafraid to get forward or make progressive passes in possession.

The former Sheffield Wednesday man made 6 ball recoveries, won 9 duels, won two aerial battles and was generally comfortable despite being thrown in for his debut [Fotmob].

It’s been a frustrating time in Glasgow for the young defender. He’s made several squads, but even in Cup games he hasn’t made it off the bench. Last night, then, was a significant opportunity to force his way into Ange Postecoglou’s reckoning.

And in a memorable Celtic debut, he took it.

Now, the likeable youngster has remarked on his debut, telling his Twitter followers:

Urhoghide was joined for his Celtic debut by former Sheffield Wednesday star Liam Shaw in last night’s starting line-up. Elsewhere, opportunities were handed to Ewan Henderson, Adam Montgomery, Liam Scales and Ismaila Soro.

If you ignore the injuries – impossible, really – there was a lot about the Celtic performance to enjoy last night. While squad depth is still something Postecoglou will need to improve, there were reasons for optimism.

Now, it’s about Osaze Urhoghide building on his debut for Celtic and becoming a regular option.

Osaze Urhoghide deserves plaudits for promising Celtic debut

You could argue last night meant nothing if you want. But for a crop of Celtic players, Urhoghide included, this was an exhibition to the manager, the fans and their teammates.

Liam Shaw had a similarly decent game, and it’s great to see both of our recruits from Sheffield Wednesday sharing the pitch.

We were all aware that both players, significantly before either were handed a Celtic debut, were works in progress. Given that they were early signings, it did give legitimate concern to the supporters; were these kinds of project signings going to be the norm?

Of course, they weren’t. That’s allowed Urhoghide and Shaw to develop to an entirely new playing culture at their own pace. Judging from what is crucially a small sample size, they’re coming along nicely.

How much first-team football they end up seeing is another thing, but the potential is there.

It’s hard to ignore the headlines from what should’ve been seen as a triumph. It’s legitimately sad that this game will have a cloud around it, the night Kyogo potentially got injured for a significant time at a crucial point of the season.

Anxiety is justified. But parking it for a second, it was a big night for a lot of Celtic’s fringe players.

For a Celtic debut, this was confident and assured stuff from Osaze Urhoghide. Now, fans will want more.

Read more: 3 realistic solutions for Celtic’s potential Kyogo crisis