Ibrahim Osman: A Gem in Brighton’s Newly Assembled Arsenal
When it comes to the spotting and development of young talents, not many football clubs do it better than Brighton & Hove Albion, the English side seem to have unearthed another gem in Ghanaian youngster, Ibrahim Osman who joined the club this summer for a fee reported to be in the region of £16 million after spending just over a year at Danish club, FC Nordsjaelland.
Born in Accra, Ghana and a product of the Right to Dream Academy, Osman has not taken so much time to announce himself to the footballing world, impressing in the Danish Super League last season, becoming a Ghana international and also securing a move to one of the biggest leagues in the world at just the age of 19.
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Ibrahim Osman joined FC Nordsjaelland in the second half of the 2022/23 season and managed to make 15 appearances in all competitions for the Danish club’s youth and senior teams, scoring three times and assisting once for the youth team. Osman then went on to impress in his first and only full season at the club by becoming a mainstay in the first team’s attack, racking up 44 appearances in all competitions, scoring 10 times while providing a total of eight assists.
Pertinent to note that the 19-year-old made 35 starts in those 44 appearances and this makes his total tally of 18 goals and assists in all competitions quite impressive for a teenager still trying to find his feet in Europe. From his performances, it was clear that Ibrahim Osman was a superstar in the making who wouldn’t stay too long in the Danish Super League as he spent the 2023/24 season reinforcing the statement made by his manager at the start of that season.
“He is a fast winger and striker, and I have huge expectations for him to be skilled. He has the pace which is important for us to have on at least one of our strikers. I don’t want to say that he has to take over for someone, but people can probably figure out that there is a player who is really good for us in the Super League, who might be really hard to keep,” former Nordsjaelland coach, Johannes Hoff Thorup said of the Ghanaian in August 2023.
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The most outstanding attributes of Ibrahim Osman’s game are his dribbling, pace, and versatility. He has got the ability to dominate the flanks with explosive pace accompanied by great close control and flair on the ball, playing mostly on the left wing which allows him to serve as a menace coming in on his favoured right foot. His versatility also means that he can play across all positions in the front three, being so potent on the right wing as well as centrally when played as a striker.
“I know myself; I don’t depend on one position. I can play as a right wing, up top, left wing, so I can play them all.” Osman said in his first exclusive interview as a Brighton player.
While the acquisition of Ibrahim Osman excites Brighton fans, from a Nordsjaelland perspective it is the loss of one of their best players and brightest young talents. Last season, Osman’s six goals in the Danish Super League was bettered in the Nordsjaelland squad by only Andreas Schjelderup and Marcus Ingvartsen who both scored nine times each.
Moreover, only Daniel Svensson’s nine league assists outnumbered Osman’s seven in the Danish Super League with the Ghanaian standing as the second highest goal contributor in the league for FC Nordsjaelland with 13 goals and assists, just two digits behind the team’s top scorer and striker, Andreas Schjelderup (15).
Osman also recorded a total of 2.5 shots per game last season coming second again to Schjelderup (2.8) and he was still second on the list of big chance creators with a total of nine big chances created behind Daniel Svensson (12). In terms of successful dribbles which is clearly one of Osman’s forte, his 2.4 successful dribbles per game was only slightly bettered by his more experienced compatriot, Ernest Nuamah, who ended the season with a total of 2.5 dribbles per game.
One other aspect of Osman’s game that needs highlighting is his off-the-ball movement. Hence, it does not come as a surprise that the 19-year-old can also play as a center-forward. With nine big chances missed last season, no FC Nordsjaelland player missed more big chances than Ibrahim Osman in the Danish Super League and while this clearly points out the fact that he needs to be more clinical, it clearly shows that the teenager has got the nous to get on the end of big scoring chances created by his teammates asides the chances he can create for himself with his dribbling and pace.
Only players with impeccable movement off the ball get on the end of so much scoring chances, and at just 19, it is most likely just a matter of time before Osman gets more clinical. Being more deadly in front of goal will definitely come with more goals and experience. All the attributes highlighted could no doubt be a weapon for Brighton next season.
Ibrahim Osman will be looking to settle into his new environment as soon as possible and he will definitely find it easier linking up with fellow Right to Dream Academy graduate, Simon Adingra who has so far been one of the success stories of Brighton’s talent-building.
In as much as Brighton has always and continue to provide a platform for youngsters to grow, getting so much opportunities does not promise to be easy for Osman who will now have to compete with a lot of talented players in his position. 27-year-old Japanese winger, Karou Mitoma is odds-on to be the starting left winger for Brighton next season while they also have the likes of Facundo Buonanotte and Simon Adingra already battling it out for the right-wing position with Joao Pedro and Evan Ferguson as the striking options.
Meanwhile, new signings like Yankuba Minteh, Adrian Mazilu, and Amario Cozier-Duberry who are all wingers could stake a claim to being a mainstay in the Brighton first team next season with the likes of Jeremy Sarmiento and Abdallah Sima also on the books of the club after returning from separate loan spells. From all indications, Brighton are properly stacked with attacking options next season and it will be really interesting to see how Ibrahim Osman fits in.
By: Moses Onyilo Adikwu / @Moe_Adikwu
Featured Image: @GabFoligno / Masashi Hara / Getty Images