KV Oostende want to sign Celtic loanee Osaze Urhoghide on a permanent basis but the Scottish Premiership leaders may be demanding too much for the defender, the club’s sporting director tells HLN.
The former Sheffield Wednesday man made just one appearance under Ange Postecoglou before moving on loan to Belgium in January.
And, given that he was farmed out just a few weeks later, you’d have been forgiven for assuming his Celtic debut was a disaster to rival that of Jonathan Woodgate all those years ago.
But that’s not quite the case.
Urhoghide more than held his own during a 3-2 Europa League victory over a highly-talented Real Betis side in December. That solid, diligent display on the right-hand side of Postecoglou’s backline was not enough to earn the 21-year-old a run of games, however, or even a place in the squad for the second half of the campaign.
And it remains to be seen whether Urhoghide ever features in that iconic green-and-white shirt again. He certainly won’t, if Oostende get their way.
Will Osaze Urhoghide ever play for Celtic again?
“We want to finalize the loanee Urhoghide (and sign him on a permanent basis) – although his price-tag is high,” admits Oostende director Gauthier Ganaye.
“But we want to find a solution.”
Ganaye sees similarities between the versatile Urhoghide and Arthur Theate, a former Oostende ace now plying his trade for Belgium and Bologna.
“He is a kind of Theate; Explosive, aggressive and forward-thinking,” Ganaye adds.
Urhoghide joined Celtic in a deal reportedly worth around £200,000 last summer. There is an option-to-buy clause in the youngster’s Oostende contract, though it remains to be seen if the Jupiler League outfit can find the funds to keep him at the club on a long-term basis.
The Glasgow giants are also expected to sell Vasilis Barkas and Albian Ajeti in the summer, while Chrstopher Scott could arrive from Bayern Munich.
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