Osaze Urhoghide has explained his reason for leaving Sheffield Wednesday, saying that a move to Celtic was 'best for his career'.

The 21-year-old completed his move to Parkhead last week following the end of his contract at Hillsborough, putting pen-to-paper on a four-year deal with the Scottish giants.

The defender made 21 appearances for the Owls last term as they suffered relegation from the Championship, meaning that the Yorkshire side will be plying their trade in the third tier of English football in the upcoming season.

Urhoghide had a decision to make as a result, and while admitting that he had interest from clubs in the Premier League, the youngster believes that a move to Celtic will be the most beneficial thing for him in the long run.

Speaking to Sky Sports, he said: "It was a hard decision to leave Sheffield Wednesday, it was disappointing last season to go down. I had to weigh up my options to see what would have been best for my career and I ended up choosing Celtic.

"I believe it's going to be a good move with the culture of the club, the expectation, the manager coming in and with what he wants to do and helping develop the players so it's a good fit for me."

Asked about any Premier League interest, he added: "Yeah there were some teams there, the Premier League would have been nice but it's also about playing and developing.

"It's about the manager and the culture of the club and it's that environment that will help you develop and improve as a player. Celtic had all those options for me.

"All the players are really good, supportive in training and with showing me around the place. It's great to be here with the new manager, everyone from the team is back basically and it's just good to get ready for the game tomorrow (against Sheffield Wednesday)."

 

 

The verdict

Few can begrudge Osaze Urhoghide his move to Celtic.

With Sheffield Wednesday suffering relegation to League One it was always likely that he would seek an opportunity to move on, particularly with his contract expiring.

While a move to the Premier League may have been more lucrative, a move to Celtic should see the 21-year-old given more regular first team opportunities, something that will certainly benefit him in the long run.

Urhoghide has a long and successful career ahead of him and the focus has to be on developing in the most effective way, something that he'll be hoping to achieve at Parkhead.