LISTENING TO GEORGIE Kelly discuss how happy he was for Chiedozie Ogbene after securing his free transfer to Luton Town was both refreshing and eye-opening.
There was no hint of bitterness that a teammate was leaving for bigger and better things in the Premier League.
And definitely no sense of resentment towards a larger than life character who had seemed destined to depart Rotherham United since last summer.
“Chieo is an unreal person. He’s a great guy and I couldn’t be happier for someone like him to get such a move like that. It’s a huge move for him and his family,” Kelly said, speaking to The Football Family, a podcast for subscribers to The 42.
The events that led to Ogbene becoming a free agent this summer are just the latest example of his unwavering self-belief and risk-taking paying dividends.
Now 26, he looks set to enter his prime years with a chance on the Premier League stage. Regardless of the fact Luton will be firm favourites to return to the Championship, the Ireland international has his opportunity to show his capabilities consistently among the elite.
Luton boss Rob Edwards is an admirer because Ogbene fits perfectly into his system of play, and also what he demands of his players both on and off the pitch.
That his why he ear-marked him early.
Ogbene will be battling for one of the striker positions in a preferred 3-5-2 system. His ability to be deployed as a right wing-back is a benefit, yet his strengths will be used in attack.
The Luton boss has already made it clear to Ogbene that he wants him to be “strong and aggressive” with the expectation that he “gets after centre backs.”
Edwards demands that his team get the ball forward quickly, not simply by playing direct, but also bursting forward on the counter attack. Only strikers who are willing to work defensively while then being physically capable of offering a threat going forward will thrive under him.
That is why Ogbene was Luton’s first signing of the summer.
He has been on the radar since contract talks with Rotherham were paused last summer – when Ogbene helped them earn a second promotion from League One.
The decision was made to run down his deal and attract additional suitors by continuing to deliver on the pitch.
In January, two bids from Championship clubs in excess of £1 million were turned down by Rotherham as they fought relegation and couldn’t risk losing their star man. Belgian side Club Bruges were also reportedly interested.
Obgene maintained his professionalism and helped ensure Rotherham avoided relegation. It’s why Kelly and his teammates hold him in such high esteem.
Although it hasn’t always been that way in England.
During a six-month loan spell with Exeter City during the first half of the 2018/19 season, the young forward was perhaps a bit too positive and carefree for the liking of more senior professionals.
Around the training ground, in the gym or club canteen, Ogbene rubbed some up the wrong way with his singing and dancing.
Exeter were targetting promotion from League Two at the time and, win, lose or draw, the 21-year-old would always maintain the same upbeat persona. Given he was on loan from Brentford, some feared he was not committed to the cause.
He soon won the majority over with his dedication and perseverance, not to mention ability. He then returned to Brentford in January 2019 with exposure to the harsh realities of lower league football.
“I’m not surprised he has been able to do what he has for Ireland and is now going to the Premier League,” former Bray Wanderers defender, and Ogbene’s old teammate at Exeter, Pierce Sweeney tells The 42.
“He deserves it. He is such an asset when he plays and makes the teams he is in better. It’s great to see him go on like this in his career.”
Ogbene has been climbing the ladder ever since, and while he is now preparing for a Premier League campaign it has not been a constant upward trajectory.
But the single-mindedness and self-belief that has allowed him to flourish as an Ireland international has also been clearly evident since his childhood, when he and his family settled in Cork after moving from Nigeria
Nemo Rangers was his Gaelic football club and Tramore Athletic was his soccer team.
He played for both into his teens and thrived as a result.
In August 2015 the first real test of his loyalties presented itself.
Now part of Cork City’s underage system in the League of Ireland, Ogbene also put in a man-of-the-match performance for Nemo in the county’s U21 football championship final at Páirc Ui Rinn. He hit 1-2 to force a replay against Valley Rovers, although he opted not to play in the return fixture as soccer was now his chosen path.
When he made his first-team debut for Cork, aged 18, and came off the bench in the 2016 FAI Cup final at Aviva Stadium it seemed as though his pathway was straightforward.
Cork, then one of the top two teams in the country with Dundalk, offered the teenager a full-time, professional contract.
Ogbene rejected it. He felt there would be better opportunities to play regular men’s football elsewhere rather than be a squad player in an experienced group that were challenging at the top of the Premier Division.
So he headed for Limerick instead and while the Blues toiled at the bottom end as Cork lifted the league title in 2017, another of Ogbene’s risks paid off.
Brentford offered him a three-year deal, vindication for the former sports injury and therapy student in Coláiste Stiofáin Naofa.
When he returned to visit his old college on the Tramore Road, he did so having etched his name in the history books as the first African-born player to play a senior international for Ireland.
He also stated his own club ambitions: “Every kid has ambitions to play in the Premier League,” he said. “I watch a lot of Premier League games with [Marcus] Rashford and [Raheem] Sterling, similar attributes to me, and I want to be like players like that.
“I can’t dream too far ahead. Hopefully in the future I can evolve into those players that I admire. I want to learn the game because I haven’t sussed out everything.”
Ogbene has already proven his strength of character and self-belief, now he has another steep learning curve among those elites he has looked up to.
