One of the benefits of having a repeatable analytical process anchored in benchmarking is that it allows the process to be… benchmarked.

It could be argued that July 2021 simultaneously feels like both an eternity ago and just yesterday. Ange Postecoglou was not long in the door at Celtic and two very interesting signings were announced in Liam Shaw and Osaze Urhoghide. The benchmarking exercise shared in this column is a review of Urhoghide’s 2022-2023 season on loan in Belgium at Oostende while also looking at why my expressed scepticism at the signing was correct.

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Specifically with regards to Urhoghide, I wrote the following after examining his 2020-2021 season at Sheffield Wednesday: "Overall looked dicey on the ball and efficient in defending." With the arrival of Brendan Rodgers and the return of Urhoghide from his season on loan, did his year in Belgium shed any new light on his performance profile and how might he fit into a Rodgers-managed Celtic team?

Celtic Way:

Urhoghide played a significant amount of time at Oostende, with nearly 2,300 minutes or about 25.5 90-minute equivalents in league games. This is also comparable to the minutes played in league games by Reo Hatate last season at Celtic. 

Oostende played primarily in formations using three centre-backs and Urhoghide was primarily used on the right side of the back three, though he did play some matches on the left. That utilization was aligned with my analysis two years ago, as it looked like he profiled ideally as a RCB for a more defensively-minded club.

The benchmarking graphic displayed characteristics that appear to have been aligned with my analysis from 2021. Urhoghide was the most active of the 62 players in the peer group relative to the volume of duels and was about average in his efficiency. Notably, his relative duel efficiency was skewed towards offensive duels versus defensive and his rate of fouling relative to his volume of duels ranked below average. 

A general theme that appeared to run through his profile is that of a really good athlete whose technical skills and decision-making may be lacking. For example, even within the context of centre-backs, his ability to create for team-mates was non-existent, even as he was near the very top of his peer group in dribbles attempted. However, we see from his relatively low ranking for accelerations per progressive run, as well as his poor ranking for defensive duel efficiency and foul rate, his athleticism did not always translate into positive football performance levels. 

Similar to the analysis done in 2021, his profile of metrics related to passing were very poor, both in creativity and efficiency. Despite these apparent weaknesses, his passing profile was that of attempting mostly those of shorter and medium length, with the volume of long passes in the 18th percentile and average pass length in the 16th percentile. This raises an interesting question as to how suitable his skillset was relative to the style of play in which he was asked to perform at Oostende, who were relegated down from the Belgium top flight. 

Relative to how Brendan Rodgers has coached teams in the recent past, whether at Leicester City or Celtic, Urhoghide certainly fits the profile of possessing both pace and power. In addition, Rodgers has been known as a strong developer of players relative to technical abilities. However, the concern with Urhoghide relates to his age (he just turned 23) and what his suitability is for playing in a back four, whether at centre-back or right-back. 

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Count me as being sceptical that Urhoghide’s profile will translate into being a regular part of Rodgers’ player rotation. If Wyscout’s listing of two years remaining on his contract is accurate, then this summer may be the time to move the player on or else my guess is another season on loan may be in store. 

Separately, this benchmarking plan has again proved relatively robust in offering a reasonable player performance profile through time. This exercise also raises questions as to the profiling being done with regard to recruitment, as well as loan placement into teams that are more likely than not to accentuate player strengths.