OSAZE Urhoghide’s ultimate ambition in football will be difficult for the new Celtic centre half to realise - he is determined to scale the same giddy heights as his idol Virgil van Dijk has in the professional game in the future.  

Yet, it would be foolish to dismiss his chances of emulating the Netherlands and Liverpool defender one day given the sharp upward trajectory that his career has taken in the past two years.

The 21-year-old was reduced to training by himself down at his local Goals five-a-side complex back in 2019 when he was suddenly and unexpectedly let go by English League One outfit Wimbledon AFC.

But the defender never gave up. He continued to believe he had both the ability and mentality to succeed despite the devastating setback. Sure enough, he promptly won himself a contract at Sheffield Wednesday, forced his way into the first team at Hillsborough and impressed onlookers with his mature performances in the ultra-competitive Championship.

Urhoghide moved to Parkhead – where his hero and fellowDutchman Van Dijk spent two hugely successful seasons before clinching a £13m transfer to Southampton in 2015 – last week and he is now determined to feature both at home and abroad in the forthcoming 2021/22 campaign and take his game “to the next level”.

Everything he has been through to date will serve him well. “Not long ago I was playing for Wimbledon and I got released,” he said after a training session at the Dragon Park in Newport in Wales, where Celtic have travelled on pre-season, yesterday.

“I went to Sheffield Wednesday and got myself into the team. I played in the Championship and now I have joined Celtic. It has been a difficult route, but those hard times made me what I am today. It has not been plain sailing all the time, but it has helped me get to where I am now.

“It was disappointing to be released. I don’t think people understand what it’s like when it happens to you. Some people can’t handle it. But I thought: ‘I am not going to give up on my dreams’. Sometimes I was working alone with no one else there.

“I was at a Goals. I had my friends with me, but when they went back to their pro teams I was on my own sometimes. It was hard. But I thought: ‘I am going to keep pushing and try to get to the next level. I am not going to let my career go to waste’.

“My friends were always pushing me on. They believed in me. They were always close to me. My old coaches always thought I could get to a higher level. They always believed in me. My family as well. Even myself. I had a dream when I was younger to be the best I could be. My family, my close friends and my coaches all helped me.

“Sheffield Wednesday was my first trial. I thought: ‘I am just going to give it everything’. The coaches saw that. They saw my passion and they saw the way I play as well. My hard work paid off and I signed. I progressed to the first team. The rest is history. I worked hard. I am going to work even harder now I am where I am.”

Van Dijk has helped Liverpool to win both the Champions League and Premier League since joining Liverpool for a then record £75m fee – it was the most money that any club had ever paid for a defender at the time - back in 2018.

The time the former Groningen player spent in Glasgow, where he won the Premiership twice, the League Cup once and featured in both the Champions League and Europa League, proved invaluable to his development as a footballer.

Urhoghide, who was born in the Netherlands to Nigerian parents and moved to England when he was five, admires his compatriot greatly and has been impressed with everything he has achieved. He would love to replicate his success in the years to come.

“I used to like Drogba,” he said.  “I was a Chelsea fan when I was a kid. But when I got older I looked up to the likes of Virgil van Dijk. He is just a solid centre back. He was at Celtic as well and he is Dutch like I am. I have seen the way he has progressed and the way he behaves and I hope I can emulate that and get to where he is.”

Urhoghide was targeted by Celtic before Ange Postecoglou, the Greek-Australian coach who has been in charge of Yokohama F Marinos in Japan for the past three years, was appointed manager last month.

However, he has enjoyed working under Postecoglou at Lennoxtown and in Newport and is confident that he can improve further with his new coach’s guidance. A friendly against his former club Sheffield Wednesday this afternoon will give him the chance to make a positive first impression.

“There were some other clubs sniffing around at the end of last season,” he said. “But Celtic was a place where I thought I could develop, thrive off the pressure and keep pushing on. The manager? I liked the way he was, the way he works on younger players’ development. I thought he could really help me get to the next level.”

Celtic play their opening Champions League qualifier against Midtjylland of Denmark on Tuesday week and Urhoghide confessed the chance to be involved in that competition was a huge factor in his decision to move to Scotland. He is keen to help the Parkhead outfit progress to the group stages for the first time in four years. 

“European football would be attractive to anyone,” he said. “You want to play at the highest level. If I have the opportunity  to do that, it is very hard to turn down. We have a good squad here, one that can compete in the Champions League and win those games.”